Dracula's Chronicles
by Kali Seito
Summary: A visit from his past leaves Alucard feeling nostalgic. CHAPTER 34 POSTED
1. What Shapes A Man What Makes A Monster

**NOTES!**

**If you have a deviantart and want to draw any of my characters or scenes go right ahead. Just E-mail me the link.**

**I've already written this story up to chapter five so all you need to do is review and you get your next chapter. I'm on fanfic everyday so there shouldn't be any delay. **

**Order 1: What Shapes A Man; What Makes A Monster**

The bright sunlight shone into the large bedroom of a grand Wallachian castle. Stepping through the bedroom door was a somewhat unattractive, pale-skinned woman with silky black hair that touched the back of her knees. She was Chiajna, Princess of Moldavia come to wake her kids.

The elegant noblewoman strode to the bedside of her eldest son, Mircea. "Dearest, it's time to get up with the sun." The thirteen year old prince groaned loudly and pulled himself into a sitting position. He gave a tongue-curling yawn. Satisfied, Chiajna moved away to the bed of her youngest son, Radu. He was often referred to as Radu the Handsome. He did not possess the childish cuteness of a young boy but the good looks of a young man. He blinked rapidly then a smile spread over his face. "Good morning, mother."

Chiajna smiled and kissed her youngest on the cheek. "Good morning, my son." She rose up and headed for the door. "Be down for breakfast soon, darlings." Mircea rose to his feet and stretched. "What about Vlad?" Their mother paused with a smile. "Let your brother rest. He holds a unique aversion to the early morning sun. Do not agitate him." She gave a final smile then swept from the room.

Mircea shrugged and followed soon after his mother to wash up and head to breakfast. Eight year old Radu paused until his eldest brother had left the room then with a glare turned to Vlad asleep in his intricate canopy bed. Radu, spurned on by his jealousy of Vlad, flung aside the black curtain and shook his brother roughly. "Wake up," he said in a low hiss. "You shouldn't be allowed to lounge as you please."

Vlad Dracul III rose up in his bed, his eyes bleary and crusted over with sleep. His usually sleek black hair was up in a wild tussle like a lion's mane around his head. The Prince blinked twice then flopped right back to the bed, snoring loudly. Radu glared angrily. "Wake up, Vlad! Damn you, wake-"

In a flash, the young prince's hand lashed out and caught the younger in the cheek. Radu stumbled away from the bed, glaring fiercely. Vlad mumbled into his soft ornamental pillows. "Don't pretend you didn't hear what Mother said. Now get out and go to breakfast." He grimaced at the feel of the sun on his skin but the canopy curtain fell back into place, shielding him.

Young Radu begrudgingly turned away and went down to have breakfast with his family.

Vlad woke up at around midday. The prince got dressed and began to wander about the castle. In the main hall he noticed Mircea with his fiancée Mataji. The couple's marriage had been arranged when Mircea was eight and Mataji was five. She confided in Vlad alone her distaste of the situation. In fact now she wore an expression of coldness when being addressed by her future husband so sure enough after a moment, Mircea turned and stalked away in frustration.

Vlad snuck up behind her and said lowly. "You shouldn't antagonize him, Mataji." She flinched away having been frightened and spun on the middle prince. "Vlad! Please don't do that." At ten, she was already beautiful. She had beautiful creamy white skin and pale blue eyes that looked like crystal oceans. Her brown hair was arranged decoratively. Once she had gotten over her initial shock she smiled at him, friendly. "Can we take a walk through the woods, Vlad?" she asked with a faint note of pleading.

"I'm not dressed for such things," he said, referring his ornate robes. Mataji spread her arms. "Nor am I. Come Vlad." She looped her arm through his and, with a laugh, headed out of the castle.

The two children strolled leisurely through the dark woods. "Mircea is so indifferent to me lately," she said with a hint of sorrow. Vlad looked at the sky, wincing at the sun. "He _is_ decidedly moody. Mother said that's what happens to boys his age." Mataji looked rather indignant. "I'm happy such things don't happen to girls." Vlad gave a faint smile. He had learned from his short life that no matter what, old or young, girls or women, females were always moody. But to say that would be an affront to Mataji's good company. Instead, he released her hand. "Let's see if you are able to catch me yet." And he took off.

Excited, Mataji gave chase.

Vlad weaved in and out of trees, over fallen logs, skidding and twisting through the woods. Mataji was hot on his trail, stumbling to imitate his movements. One of Vlad's sharp turns left her skidding to a fall. He paused for a moment and watched her scramble to her feet and kept going. He laughed and kept running. The young girl followed him doggedly, hand outstretched. She could feel the silky caress of his hair and knew if she could run just a little faster she'd catch him...

Vlad twisted to the side and Mataji struggled to stop. She dropped to the ground and looked up at him, panting. "You win again." The Prince smiled and held out his hand, helped her to her feet.

Life progressed as usual for Vlad. Though, he was soon to learn the threat to his family.

Vlad Dracul II was under considerable political pressure from the Ottoman sultan. The lord was threatened with invasion; he gave a promise to be the vassal of the Sultan and gave up his two younger sons as hostages so that he would keep his promise.

That day, Vlad and Radu were summoned to the main parlor. The princes were naturally curious. They stood behind the rest of the family. Mataji was present also. The Ottoman sultan was a hard and ugly man. He glared down at the children with contempt. "You must keep your promise," he said to Vlad II. The Lord waved his hand dismissively. "Take them."

The younger Vlad wondered who his father meant.

"Men!" the sultan barked. His soldiers emerged behind him. "Take the children," he said and snapped his fingers.

Children? What did he mean take them? Vlad's eyes widened as he saw the men advancing on him and his younger brother. He jerked to attention. Despite his dislike for Radu, he flung himself in front of the young prince. Radu, forgetting himself, clutched Vlad's sleeve in fear. The men carried heavy iron chains. Vlad's eyes opened wide. He concentrated on the men. He was thirteen years old, wouldn't be able to fight back. If he could escape with Radu though, they would never be able to catch him.

A man reacted with more speed that Vlad had thought possible. In a moment, he'd wrapped his forearm around the prince's throat and lifted him off the ground. Seconds later, he heard a yelp of fear from his brother who had likewise been put into this position. Mataji and Mircea gasped. "Let go of them!" they said in unison. They too were restrained.

Vlad growled ferociously as he held his arms being chained behind his back, his feet likewise. He twisted and thrashed madly before someone delivered a blow to the back of his head, disorienting him. Radu was crying, screaming for his mother. Chiajna turned away, tearfully. Vlad, struggling to refocus his eyes, saw Mataji pulling against the man who held her. His eyes forced her to stop. The penalty for a woman's disobedience was death. She stopped and stared at him with tears streaking down her face. "Vlad..."

And before he was completely whisked away, he stole a glance at his father. The older Vlad was looking at his younger sons being taken prisoner with no present emotion. Young Vlad bared his teeth in a vicious expression and noted with pleasure the fear he felt in his father's eyes. And then they were gone.

-

Vlad twisted his wrists in the metal cuffs while Radu wailed loudly. "You can stop doing that," the sultan, Mehmed, commented nonchalantly. "You won't break them."

"You bastard! Where are you taking us?"

One of the sultan's guards riding with them lashed out and slapped Vlad across the mouth. "You will address the Sultan with respect," he said formally and settled into his seat. Vlad glared at him viciously. Mehmed looked out the window of the horse drawn carriage. "You are going to become a servant of my house."

"A servant?" Vlad repeated, outraged. "How dare you? Do you know who the hell I am?"

At this, Mehmed gave a contemptuous sneer. "You are the son of a weak-minded fool who was so ill-equipped he couldn't even stop my invasion."

Vlad glared at him. "I would rather die then serve you."

Mehmed looked at him, stoically. "We shall soon see."

The carriage rattled on for days before coming to the grand Ottoman Castle. Vlad's eyes widened. It was much bigger than his own. He growled and averted his eyes. Radu, on the other hand, was gaping at the huge palace with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. The door was opened and the Sultan stepped elegantly to the ground. "Get out," the guard inside ordered the brothers.

Both hesitated; Vlad, out of stubbornness, and Radu, out of fear. The sentry, having determined his dislike of Vlad, reached out and shoved the boy from the carriage. Tripping with the chains round his ankles, Vlad landed face first on the ground. Radu, in turn, scrambled from the carriage.

This isn't happening, he thought, dazedly. A dream, a nightmare, not real...

But the reality slammed into him when he was roughly pulled to his feet and shoved forward. The sentries forced him to walk by poking spears into his back. Radu went unassisted. Vlad had to be forced along every couple of steps as he would stop in his tracks and refuse to move for several seconds. The guard escorts would promptly smash him about the head.

The head guard, Gajin, glared down at him. "You should learn to behave yourself, boy. Take a note from your brother." Vlad glared back at him and let loose a string of obscenities which got him punched in the mouth. Radu, on the other hand, had a different reaction.

The youngest one was staring into space. Take a note from your brother. Truly, in retrospect, it was the first compliment he'd ever received that upbraided Vlad as well. He smiled mentally.

"Do as they say, Vlad," he said softly. Vlad glared at him. "Shut your mouth, maggot."

Within minutes, though, Vlad was again pulled to his feet but this time he was dragged. The guards led the brothers to a run down shack about a hundred feet east of the castle. Radu walked in and Vlad was thrown in seconds after. Gajin addressed the two.

"You are to report to the castle as soon as the sun rises and clean the first, second, and third floor of the castle. Any defiance will not be tolerated. Guards are stationed around this hut at all hours of the night. Escape is impossible."

"They won't stop me," Vlad grumbled.

Gajin sneered at him. "You want to run, boy? Go ahead. We're hundreds of miles from Wallachia. It was four days by carriage. How will you hope to return to your home on foot and with no sense of where you're going?" He continued. "Your meal will be determined by your work. Any desire not to work is ultimately a desire not to eat. You start tomorrow morning." And he turned and left.

Vlad looked around the small shack. There was only one bed, a bedpan, and a window. He growled lowly and kicked the little bed. Radu looked on, sullen and silent. Vlad walked to the window and looked out. He could see three individual guards stationed. He walked to the door and pushed it open a crack. A guard looked down at him from his place at the door. Vlad stuck out his tongue and closed the door again. "Damn it," he said lowly.

Radu meanwhile had climbed onto the bed and curled into a ball. Vlad watched him for a moment then Radu turned and grinned at him. "Looks like you won't be treated like such a prince anymore," he said maliciously and turned over to face the wall and was silent.

Vlad paced and raged for an hour before exhaustion overwhelmed him and he settled into a corner. He didn't dare sleep. He dozed in and out of consciousness until the sun came up and he was ordered to work.

-

Naturally he refused. He looked down his nose at Radu who did all his chores obediently. And he soon became exasperated. "Where's your Dracul pride, Radu?" Vlad asked desperately.

"Pride doesn't count for much if you're dead, Vlad," he said seriously, a wise thing for someone his age.

"I was not born into a life of servitude," he said loudly. "I am and always be a prince, no matter where I go." And he sat down and refused to be moved. And after three days of refusing to work and not getting fed, the Sultan was fed up with Vlad's defiance.

"You insolent little whelp," he shouted. "If you won't act a servant then you'll be treated as a dog!" And he was dragged to the palace's underground dungeon where he was left alone for three full days. On the third night, the door opened and a group of guards entered, one carrying a whip and filling young Vlad with dread. Immediately, he charged the guards swinging his fists but was soon overpowered and pinned to the floor. "Will you comply?" the main guard asked seriously. Vlad struggled to see him and spit out, "Go to hell!" The back of his shirt was ripped open and the whip bit into him again and again until he screamed from pain.

And they left him there, broken and bleeding with pain blinding him on the ground.

Eventually, he pulled himself to his knees. "I refuse to die," he muttered lowly to himself. And he rose to his feet and tilted his chin up like the defiant prince he was and vowed to survive.

-

The next years were influential in shaping Vlad's character; he was often whipped by his Ottoman captors for being stubborn and rude. He witnessed many tortures and occasionally took part in various discussions on the art of torture, which was used frequently by the Ottoman Turks. He learned from one of the gloating guards that Radu had caught the eye of the sultan's son and was now released, converted to Islam, and involved in a homosexual relationship with Mehmed II. Vlad shrugged it off, not caring. He developed a well-known hatred for Radu and for Mehmed II, who would later become the sultan.

Over the years though, Vlad began to change. He had always held an unusual aversion to the sun but now he cringed and ran from it. Several times the guards would not feed him and Vlad feasted on his own blood. His eyes became adjusted to the dark and changed from black to red, as one of the guards once told him. His back eyeteeth grew long and sharp. Vlad couldn't understand these changes and didn't particularly care much either.

And one day, seven years later, the Sultan himself entered the chamber flanked by his guards. Vlad immediately tensed his body. By now, the boy was covered in scars and would attack anyone who walked through the door but now he hesitated. The Sultan raised his head high. "Boy. We have received word that your father has been assassinated." Vlad shrugged. He had grown a deep-seated hatred for his father and couldn't care less what happened to the man. "Is that all you came to tell me?" he asked rudely.

"You should keep a civil tongue," he advised. "Because of your father's death, you are hereby released." Vlad's eyes widened. "I can go?" The Sultan nodded. "You are free to leave." Vlad edged closer to the door. No one moved to stop him. He looked around at the guards, the Sultan then fled as fast as his feet could carry him.

Fortunately, it was nighttime. He reached the edge of the Sultan's palace coming upon a blacksmith and found his way in.

The smith looked up from pounding a flat steel blade. "Can I help you?"

Vlad averted his eyes. "I'm just looking for a new sword." He began to inspect the swords. "Have you heard about Vlad Dracul II?" he asked conversationally. The smith shrugged. "I heard he'd been assassinated by boyars. A pity. The Draculs used to be a respected family until the old man gave up his two sons and the eldest died." Vlad stopped short. "Mircea?"

"Yeah, that was his name. I heard he was blinded with hot iron stakes and buried alive by his political enemies. Brutal stuff. Like I said, a pity."

Mircea...Dead...Buried alive.

Anger swelled in him as he pulled a blade from a wall. "This one looks nice. How much is it?" The smith named a price. Vlad considered. "Yes, that sounds reasonable. But I have a better one." And he spun and shoved the sword into the blacksmith's heart. The smith looked on shocked for a moment then fell to the floor, dead.

Vlad tucked the sword and two others into his belt and stole the blacksmith's horse. He mounted it and headed for Wallachia, going home.

-

Vlad's actions after returning home were well documented. Except for constantly performing acts of amazing cruelty, he seems to have led the life of all the other princes of Wallachia. The early part of Vlad's reign was dominated by the idea of eliminating all possible threats to his power, mainly the rival nobility groups, i.e. the boyars. This was done mainly by physical elimination such as impalement, but also by reducing the economic role of the nobility: the key positions in the Prince's Council, traditionally belonging to the country's greatest boyars, were handed to obscure individuals, some of them of foreign origin, but who manifested loyalty towards Vlad. Nonetheless, even these people were eliminated regularly.

More than anything else, Vlad Dracul III is known for his exceeding cruelty. Impalement was his preferred method of torture and execution. His method of torture was a horse attached to each of the victim's legs as a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled, and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp; else the victim might die too rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted into the body through the anus and was often forced through the body until it emerged from the mouth. However, there were many instances where victims were impaled through other bodily orifices or through the abdomen or chest. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake.

As expected, death by impalement was slow and painful. Victims sometimes endured for hours or days. Vlad often had the stakes arranged in various geometric patterns. The most common pattern was a ring of concentric circles in the outskirts of a city that constituted his target. The height of the spear indicated the rank of the victim. The corpses were often left decaying for months. And one day, he'd had enough.

No one knew what inspired it but on one random whim, Vlad packed his stuff and headed from the castle leaving it to whoever wanted it.

He was going to Transylvania...

-

On his way to Transylvania, he was ambushed. Someone recognized him and after a short battle, Vlad was impaled through the heart.

He didn't fall. He stared at the stake through his chest, bewildered. And the surroundings seemed to just fall away...

He blinked, confused. Am I...dead?

_Far from it._

Vlad blinked, took a step back. A figure had materialized in front of him.

Man or woman, it was hard to tell. Does perfection have a gender? Vlad knew in that instant that he stared upon the most exquisitely beautiful creature he had ever seen. The person's dark hair flowed around its shoulders, swaying in a wind that didn't blow. Eyes as black as night stared down at him and in them, Vlad could see the answers of the world, understandings that alluded the smartest of mortals. These were the eyes of a God...or of a Devil.

Despite himself, he shuddered but sheer willpower kept him from falling to his knees before this awesome creature. He was filled with awe and fear.

The man - yes, it was a man, he could tell now - smiled with teeth so straight and white, the mouth of a god. And from him emanated an aura of black, the darkness of the universe.

Vlad gulped. _Are you the Devil?_

The man laughed, a sound that struck uneasiness in Vlad. _Lucifer holds no weight with me. I am the Dark Lord._

_What do you want with me?_ he asked, apprehensively.

_I've come to offer you a chance at immortal life. All of your powers will mirror mine. _

He blinked, surprised. _How will I be changed?_

_That depends upon your own heart and mind. For each one is different. You shall become more powerful, but there will be conditions on that power. I leave you to discover them for yourself._

_What kind of conditions?_

_You must spill the blood of ten thousand mortals and make huge your empire. When the time comes, you will gain a mass amount of followers and spread your plague upon this earth. Can you do this?_

Vlad nodded cautiously. _I can._

The Dark Lord's grin widened and, as Vlad watched, fangs grew from his front teeth. _Then come here._

Vlad took two steps toward him before there was barely any space, separating the two.

The Dark One lowered his head to Vlad's neck. _There are many types of vampires. Of them, I am chief._ And he buried his fangs in Vlad's throat.

At the moment the fangs pierced Vlad's skin, he felt a surge of power, of exhilaration, move from the Dark Lord into him. There was no pain but bliss unimaginable. Vlad opened his eyes, the white near blinding, until he thought he would cease to exist...

When the light had faded, he was back in the swamp. No time had passed at all. His ambushers still stood in front of him.

Then his crimson eyes narrowed in anger at the sight of his flowing blood. He grasped the stake and after several painful seconds pulled it out.

The ambushers were shocked and afraid.

Vlad's eyes narrowed, glowing in demonic fury. The shadows underneath his feet slithered to life and wrapped around the assailants. His long sharp nails stretched out and in a moment he had forced his hand through the chests of all the men.

Vlad stomped on through the marsh. In the dark, he could see as if the sun was up. He could identify anything in the woods around him by its smell. He knew the animals were there without looking at them. Putting a hand to his chest, he noticed the wound had closed up and his heart wasn't beating. Without caring, he walked on.

Within another day, he reached a small Transylvanian village. He wandered through it, evading the strangers before coming upon more woods and within a stream. He walked to it, noting the small figure of someone sitting near the water. The scent that reached him was from long ago, a scent that used to chase him through trees.

"Mataji..."

**Okay that was cool. Hang on, this story picks up around ch. 3. Don't doubt me, loyal readers, review and keep going.**


	2. New Arrival

**Small number of reviews but reviews none the less, thanks you all but first: **

**For Erl (who probably isn't reading anyway...) No, I have not read the manga and I'm sorry you don't like my fanfic but as for Vlad's behavior...I wikipedia-ed 'Vlad Tepes' and I read that he was often stubborn and rude to his captors. Do not doubt Wikipedia for it knows all. **

**As for the rest of you: **

**BadLuckCat **

**Lord Makura **

**Agent HUNK **

**Dante - (Thank you for your corrective criticism and not just mad flaming) **

**And now, onwards! **

**Order 2: New Arrival **

"Mataji..."

She turned and stood with a curious expression. She had barely changed. The small crystal blue eyes had grown larger, shining with intelligence. She had the developed body of a beautiful young woman. As she stared, she opened her mouth to speak. She didn't recognize him.

A smile crossed Vlad's face and he spoke the words he had said many times before:

"Let's see if you are able to catch me yet."

And he took off but not without first seeing the realization dawn on her face. And as though, ten years hadn't separated the last time they saw each other, she gave chase.

She was considerably faster but she could not hope to catch Vlad now. He could see her, even though she was behind him. He could hear her blood flowing, her heartbeat, her footsteps. So greater was his speed that he actually doubled back and chased her instead. She gave a small gasp as his arms wrapped around her, one around her neck, the other across her stomach and he kissed her neck.

"Mataji. My Mataji."

"Vlad," she said as affectionately, nuzzling his arm. She pulled out of his grasp and looked at him. "Vlad. Look at how much you've changed!" She put a hand to his cheek. "Time has been kind to you."

"I have changed," he said, grabbing her hand. "I will not carry the name my cowardly bastard of a father bestowed on me. You shall now call me Dracula. Come and let me tell you of how much I've actually changed."

And as they rested by the stream, he told his story: capture, torture, escape, reign of terror.

"It is easy to see that I am not a normal man. I can see things your eyes cannot, hear what you can't. My strength, endurance, reflexes. I have escaped death many times these years. I have amazing healing and supernatural powers." Mataji looked at him, curiously. "I have trouble believing everything you said, Vl-." She shook her head. "Dracula." In response, he held out his palm and with the long nail on his index finger he cut open the skin. Before her eyes, the wound quickly closed up. She gasped lowly. "What are you," she said in a hushed tone.

"I am 'who', not 'what'. I am a creature of the night. The No-life King, one and only Nosferatu."

"What does that mean?"

"It matters not. What matters now is what I have to say. I want you to be like me."

She was horrified at the idea. "I cannot! Rumors of the horrid Vlad the Impaler reached my ears and I felt so sorry that the gentle boy I once knew had been reduced to such a man. I cannot be like you." His anger flared. "Do not condemn what you do not understand, Mataji! I have not been reduced, I'm enhanced." She flinched at his harsh tone and lowered her head. "Will it hurt?"

"No. You will feel better than you ever have, happier then you've ever been."

She looked at him, seriously. "Are you happy, Vl- Dracula?"

"I will be once you join me."

She was choked with passion. "Do you love me?"

"My heart stopped beating sometime ago. I have no idea if a creature like me can love but I'm more than willing to try."

"What will I have to lose?"

His words were serious. "You have nothing to lose...and everything to gain."

She rose to her feet with fast determination. "I want it." Dracula rose to his as well, smiling at her sudden mood change. This was the girl he remembered, the one who wouldn't let boys leave her behind, who endured teasing and gave it back double. "This is the part where you close your eyes," Dracula said seriously. She didn't ask any more questions but had one more thing to say. She turned those pale blue eyes on him and said:

"If I lose the ability to feel things in my heart, I want you to know...I love you, Dracula. Even back when I was engaged to Mircea, it was always you."

Dracula smiled and gave her a small kiss on the lips. "Hold onto that love. Whatever you do." And he sank his fangs into her.

-

Dracula had carried Mataji back into the village and inquired where her house was. He was directed into the small house. After laying her on the bed, he looked around distastefully. He was going to find a nicer place for them to live together. He sat nearby and watched her sleep like a log, reveling over her beauty. What was the difference between love and deep affection? Where was the line drawn?

She slept away most of that day and much of that night but finally she opened her newly blood-red eyes.

"Dracula," she said a bit confused and looked around. He watched her in amusement as she searched then turned to him and said, "My eyes are different." He nodded. "What'd you expect?" She rose unsteadily to her feet. "I feel...different." She flexed her arms and legs, felt the new muscle there. He watched as her tongue ran over her new fangs. She put her hand over her chest and said solemnly. "I can't feel my heart beat."

"That's because it isn't beating."

She looked at him startled. "Is it still there?"

He laughed at her silly question. While he laughed, her hand traveled down to her stomach. "I'm hungry," she said, distantly. He held out his hand. "Come and we will get you something to eat." She took his hand and he led her from the house. He walked to the house adjacent to them that belonged to a simple farmer. He walked to the door and pushed it open. "What are you doing?" Mataji hissed.

_Be quiet. _

She gave a silent gasp and fell silent. Dracula ventured to the bed of the sleeping man and gently roused him. His gaze went from sleepy to alarm but Dracula quickly silenced him. "You will not make a sound," he said, seriously, drilling his red eyes into the man's. "You are going to sit here for several minutes and not move or speak. Understand?" The man rose to a sitting position and stared straight ahead.

"What did you do?" Mataji asked, amazed. She waved a hand in front of the man's face. "He is simply hypnotized," Dracula said with a shrug. "But why?"

"Listen closely," Dracula said with authority in his voice. "From now on, you will need blood to survive. This man is here to provide. He is not chaste as you are. Your bite will turn him into less than a man. I'm here to make sure this doesn't happen. I'm going to take his blood and he will wake up with a slight headache and nothing else." Dracula navigated the house until he found a small bowl. Slowly and blocking it from her questioning gaze, he sliced open the man's forearm and bled him into the bowl until it was filled to the top. Then he turned and held it up for Mataji to see.

She had pulled a face after hearing she would have to drink blood but with it in her face, with the smell in her nose, she reached for it hungrily. Dracula held it out of her grasp. "Not here." He looked at the man who had remained motionless. "You will lie down and go back to sleep now. There were no visitors in the night." As instructed, the man returned to his bed and in seconds was snoring.

Back in their own house, Dracula continued to tease Mataji. "Give it to me, Dracula," she said with a whine. He grinned at her. "Your punch might be able to go through my stomach now." She looked at him, curiously. "Am I really that powerful?" He nodded and handed her the bowl. "You will be." She tilted the bowl, took a tentative sip, and then swallowed it all in seconds. "How do you feel?" he asked in amusement as she licked her lips several times and whatever drops of blood she could reach on the bowl. "Wonderful," she said after a moment. "What will happen if I don't drink blood?"

He delved into his mind. "You can survive for a short amount of time. Soon you will become weak and then so much that you will not be able to move. You will then suffer from painful cramps and eventually become comatose." She listened and then moved onto the bed, curling up to sleep again. "Thank you, Master," she said, drowsily. Dracula locked his eyes on her. "Why did you call me that?" She shrugged. "It seemed like the right thing to say."

"I don't want to hear it again. You are not my servant."

She nodded. "Come lay with me."

"I have no need for sleep."

"I didn't say sleep," she said with a smile. "I said lay." Dracula shook his head with a smile and joined her in the bed. She snuggled and nuzzled his chest. "Good night, my Nosferatu," she said lowly. "Good night, my dear," he said, placing an affectionate hand on her head.

-

In days, Mataji was more accustomed to her afterlife. She would speed along open plains and launch herself into the air, shrieking like a banshee. She could destroy boulders with a clap of her hands and scale the tallest trees in a single leap. She was addicted to her strength and speed. They had ran for almost half a night, to a destination Dracula was not aware of, before Mataji found what she was looking for: A den of tigers. She lunged into the crowd, scattering the roaring cats and chased them until the sun came up while Dracula collapsed in laughter. He had to teleport them back to escape the sun.

"When will I be able to do those things, Mas- Dracula?"

"I've been asking myself that. Before you go to sleep, I want you to drink my blood."

"Why?"

"If you do, you will no longer be bound to me. You will be free to do as you wish and you will gain all my powers. Likewise, I will drink a bit of yours and we shall become bloodmates." He grinned at her and said, as a selling point: "My blood is much more delicious then any human's." And she was convinced. Watching him closely, she poised over his neck. Their close proximity was noted. She wrapped her arms around him. "Count..." she whispered lowly. She breathed in his scent for a moment then sank her fangs into his neck.

He shuddered, liking the feeling of her fangs in him before she retracted them and lapped at the blood that flowed.

He'd been right. His blood was simply delectable and Dracula had to pull her away to stop her from draining him.

Her eyes were different. Her pupils had dilated and a wide grin crossed her face. "Dracula," she said, lustfully. His grin matched hers. "The sun is up, Mataji my dear." She looked out the window then back at him. "Can I have another taste tomorrow?" He chuckled. "We shall see." Quickly, he bit into her neck and sipped a bit of her blood. His bite was a bit more intoxicating. He laid her back on the bed and in seconds she was asleep.

Mataji awakened the next night to find Dracula gone. She experienced a brief moment of panic before she branched out mentally and found him sitting by their stream. She followed his scent and watched her lord staring, absentmindedly, into the water. She looked at the sky; there was no moon. She looked at him then approached slowly then lowered herself to the grass and wrapped her arms around him.

"What troubles you, my love?"

"Mataji," he spoke seriously and turned his head to watch her. "We must leave this place."

She looked at him. "Why?"

He smiled at her. "We are moving on to better things. I am, after all, accustomed to a certain way of life."

"Oh? My way of life does not suit you?" She shrugged. "We can't all be princes, Dracula." He smiled at her banter. "I'm a King now. You are my Queen. And we shall live like it." She kissed his cheek then his neck. "My Lord, I trust your judgment. When will we go?"

"Tonight. Someone from this village will die because you need to be fully energized for this trip we're about to take." Mataji rose to her feet and nodded. "Fine." She turned without a word and dashed back to the village, in search of a victim. After her feeding, she returned to Dracula, wiping the blood from her face. Dracula stood. "Are you ready?" She kissed him softly and nodded. He gave a wicked grin. "Then let's see if you are able to catch me yet."

And across the land sped the King and Queen of the night...

**Yeah done. Enjoy and review. Later. **


	3. Settle Down

**Shout outs to the reviewers: **

**Lord Makura **

**BadLuckCat **

**Kendra Chetnova **

**Minimal but highly acceptable. Lol, three is better than none, huh? Chapter 3! **

**Order 3: Settle Down **

After one year of travel, the couple was forced to rest. On a moon-less night, unable to control her bloodlust, Mataji had bitten a man who had had the misfortune of sneaking up on her in the dark.

He was the son of a wealthy Romanian family. After the attack, he had ran off, returning home and Mataji, not herself, had continued onward, finally making her way to Dracula before the sun rose.

In two night's time, Dracula felt the piercing aura of two newborn vampyres. He questioned Mataji about it but she could not remember that night. The pair waited until dark and searched the streets for the whereabouts of the newborns. It didn't take very long. The newly deads were moving throughout the city with lightning speed. They bounced off of walls and houses as though they were merely children; though Dracula could easily sense their desire for bloodshed.

He exchanged a look with Mataji and when the new pair moved without arm's length, they were grabbed and snatched back into the dark. Dracula pushed his captive against the wall and then grabbed him around the throat, digging his nails into his flesh. "Stay quiet and you'll live longer," he commanded. The captive's accomplice was put in a similar position.

Dracula paused to look at him. The young man looked about twenty-three, with short black hair. He had a handsome face, tanned by the sun, but which was currently twisted in anger. His red eyes gleamed in the dark as he bared his fangs, ferociously. "Release me this instant," he growled angrily. Dracula smiled with scorn. "You do not have any authority to command me," he said simply. The young man's anger seemed to dispel as he heard him talk. "You have the same eyes as me," he said lowly.

Slowly, Dracula loosened his grip on his throat. "What's your name?" he asked evenly. "It's Adrian," he said hesitantly. He turned his eyes to Mataji, realization taking over his face. "You. You're the woman who bit me." Mataji grinned, a bit sheepishly. "My apologies." She released the accomplice. "And your name?" He had the same face as the first. They were twins. "It's Anton."

"Who are you people?" Adrian asked. Dracula sighed noisily and glared fiercely at Mataji. "I do not wish for unworthy newcomers to have my blood in their veins." Mataji opened her mouth to reply but Adrian cut in. "Unworthy? How dare you insult me!" Dracula looked at him, disgusted, then grabbed hold off his collar. He twisted around and flung him at Mataji. "They are your responsibility," he said firmly and strode off.

By sunrise the three had returned and Dracula was still fuming. The brothers bowed respectfully then hurried into the house to avoid the sun. Dracula sat on the roof and turned a stony glare on Mataji. "Don't look at me so," she pleaded and jumped up to sit beside him. "I'm sure you're not pleased with this but I'm sure I can persuade you otherwise, my lord." She leaned against him. "Why shouldn't we be able to expand what we have? Why keep it to ourselves?"

"Can you truly be so foolish?" he asked abrasively. "You bit Adrian two nights ago. He bit his brother one night ago. If we had left this place that night, they would have surely gone on a biting spree, not knowing what they were. We are predators, Mataji. If there becomes too many of us, there will be nothing left to hunt. We are like a plague on this earth." Mataji shook her head. "I will not be treated like a disease. Dracula, if we could control how many of us we create, there would be no problem. If we could keep those like us together..."

He bared his fangs angrily. "No!"

Mataji did likewise. "Stop being stubborn, Vlad!"

He drew back at her using his first name. Her eyes were flashing in anger. "You are being selfish and stubborn and I will not let you be blinded to a good thing." Sadness touched her face. "I am tired of moving around from place to place and having no one to speak with but you. I want a family." Determination entered her voice. "And I will have one." She jumped from the roof and fled the sun. "Women," he spat, savagely.

The No-Life King stayed at his spot, changing positions with the sun. Finally, as night fell he entered the small house to the awakening vampires. Apparently, Mataji had explained the situation to them because Adrian held back his trademark attitude. He watched them for a moment and began his rules. Adrian and Anton were to follow his every command as he saw fit and provide advice when necessary. The four made up the Nosferatu Council and together they would enforce its rules, The Code of the Undead:

1) A vampyre was absolutely forbidden to kill another one of its kind.

2) A vampyre could only have three living fledglings at a time and one's Master would have to deem the new fledging fit before they could be changed.

3) Turning a child into a vampyre was absolutely forbidden. The cut-off age was seventeen.

4) Turning someone into a vampyre against their will was forbidden.

5) Senseless murders were a capital crime.

If any of these rules were broken, the Nosferatu Council alone held the authority to deal out punishment. This was Count Dracula's will and no one could break it.

Five years later...

The vampyres had settled in Northern Transylvania. It had taken a year to complete the grand monumental castle which Dracula found extravagant and unnecessary but Mataji had simply smiled and said, "A King deserves to live like one." After half a decade, their number had increased to about twenty and it was around this time, in 1459, an interesting set of mate attraction rituals began.

It was the mysterious beauty, Elena, Anton's first fledgling, who made the first dance.

Every now and then, an elaborate dance took place in the ballroom of the grand castle with all the vampyres gathered. Elena swept, silently, into the middle of the dance floor and she had the whole audience captivated. And so began the dance. The music was low and haunting, played by an orchestra of skilled musicians. In her flowing Victorian skirt and lacy corset, Elena wove an intricate dance of sensuality. She glided to the edges of the floor, to the crowd, smiling and clicking her fangs, invitingly. The men watched with growing lust, the women with fascination and faint jealousy. Elena spun in a circle back to the center of the floor and watched the crowd.

A timid male by the name of Simon stepped onto the floor. Smiling kindly, Elena bowed to him respectfully, despite being older than him, and took his hands. Immediately, the music picked up and Elena began a wild step. Poor Simon could not keep up. He stumbled slightly and Elena released his hands and then returned to the slow beat of her original dance. Every time a new man stepped up to her, the music would quicken and they would fight to keep up with the dancing dervish. But by the end of the night, only one man could match her step. A strong youth named Stefan, who had been an accomplished ballroom dancer in his previous life spun and twisted with Elena, stirring up the girl like no ordinary dancer could. By the end of the song, she was flustered but immensely pleased.

"You dance well," she commented.

"I could not bear to face a beautiful dancer like you without some skill under my belt," he said charmingly.

And under the eyes of their clan, the two sank their fangs into each other's necks, binding them as official bloodmates.

And so came the tradition known, by its formal name, of Elena's Dance. It was not merely an exercise to find a decent dance partner. It was a test of compatibility, the ability to move and work together in flawless fluidity. If a man stumbled or stepped on a woman's foot, he was deemed unfit.

Lisha, the third generation of Adrian's line, was impatient one night, grumpy and her Master, Yasha, came to see her, bringing Olena with him, who was (for all intents and purposes) his sister. Yasha and Olena were Adrian's fledglings, Lisha was Yasha's.

"I'm not going," Lisha stubbornly said, sitting in her dress, legs hanging over the side of her coffin. "It's a silly tradition and I will have no part in it."

"Why do you find every need to be contrary," Olena complained.

"And what would you have me do?" Lisha fired back. "I cannot dance with half the grace Elena is capable of. I will never find a mate if we keep up with this foolish practice. I will have no part in it," she repeated. "Fine," Olena said frustrated. "I have no desire to listen to your whining tonight anyway." And with dramatic flair, she whirled and left the room.

Lisha laid her eyes on Yasha. "I don't want to go, Master," she said quietly, with a less whining inflection. He smiled kindly. "It's okay. You do not have to attend this dance." She rose from her coffin and smiled. She was a pretty girl, dark-skinned of average height; her red eyes betrayed every emotion that entered her body. Her back hair was braided weekly in increasingly flashy styles. Tonight the braids looped around each other, tied up, then let hang.

Yasha was taller than her, by about two inches, and had the same dark complexion as she. His thick, dark hair was pushed nonchalantly to the back, a flip covering his left eye. He was strongly built and shrewd. "I happen to know," he said, "that most men find Elena's Dance, shall I say, unfair to the dancing impaired." He moved closer to her. "I have an interesting idea. If you come with me, we'll do something fun." Her eyes were shining rubies. "Fun? What kind of fun, Master?" He tilted his head and smiled his annoyingly teasing smile. "That's for me to know and you to find out." He turned from her. "Meet me in the woods in one hour." He started off. "Oh, and wear something comfortable." And he left.

And so Lisha journeyed from the castle, meeting Mataji on the way out. She bowed respectfully to the Queen of Vampires. "Good evening, Mistress Mataji," she said quietly. "Lisha," she replied, smiling. "Where are you off to?" She looked at her, eyes wide. "I'm- My Master has requested my presence. I apologize for missing the dance." Mataji nodded. "You may go," she said as way of dismissal and Lisha scurried around her.

She met with Yasha at the edge of the vampyre's stream, the night dark without the moon. "So what's this game," she said, eagerly, dropping to her knees at his side. "Excitable, aren't we?" he laughed then rose to his feet, bringing her with him. She was dressed in a loose-fitting corset and black leather pants. "The rule is simple. You must run and evade me at all costs. If I can grab onto you enough times in a short amount of time, you lose."

"How is the game ended?" she asked curiously. "The game is over," he informed her, "when I win." She scoffed. "You think I can't run from you?" He smirked. "I know you can't. If, by some way, you are able to evade me for long enough, you will win. The prize is the same as the Dance's." She took a moment to absorb the last statement. If she could keep away long enough, he'd make her his...

She stretched her arms over her head, practically bursting with energy. "Fine, Master. You won't catch me so easily. I was _built_ for speed," she said, with a cocky smirk. It was common knowledge that female vampyres were more proficient in speed than strength, even more so then the men. With a final grin, she turned and jumped amongst the trees, speeding along the dead leaves.

She was just thinking how easy this would be before, Yasha teleported in front of her, arms as wide as his grin. She twisted sharply to avoid him. "No fair, Master! I can't phase yet."

"You should have thought of that then," he said and reached out for her. She took off again this time scaling trees in seconds. Wherever she went, Yasha followed. By sunrise she had been caught six times. She flopped on her back, exhausted. "No fair," she pouted lightly. Yasha smiled and gathered her into his arms. "You are not yet ready. We can try again the next time you feel like. For now, you need to get away from the sun."

And so the second tradition came to light. A man would ask a woman to join in the 'game' with him. If the woman could evade him long enough, it would prove she was skillful enough to hold her own and the man would find her worthy. Its informal name was Evasion Persuasion.

-

Now, Dracula, despite all his previous inhibitions, was visibly pleased with how things had turned out. Mataji could see he enjoyed the castle and the people within it. The others showed him unwavering loyalty which apparently surprised him. Though what Dracula found most surprising was how much he'd missed the company of others. He couldn't have inherited his father's throne (nor would he have taken it) so he had made a throne of his own.

There was always something to do, a fight, a game and the castle was rarely at rest except for during the day. He was surprised at the level of sophistication each person showed; despite the fact that many of them were raging with bloodlust.

Dracula rarely ventured to the village near the castle. The castle was settled some hundred feet away from the nearest human village. The spot was chosen so there would be a consistent amount of human blood around. Surrounding the castle was a foreboding forest with a stream that flowed down towards the village and far on the other side was a cemetery. The humans kept away from the castle at all costs but if one of the human children ventured too far, someone was here to scare them off.

For the first time since he was ten years old, Dracula was content. He had a new family, loyal subjects, a woman who loved him, and enough blood to keep him going for a long time.

Life was good.


	4. Conspiracy

**The reviews are not really the number I expected but I don't care. I'm happy for the ones who've stopped to read and review. Like: **

**Lord Makura - Lol, thanks. **

**BadLuckCat - Here ya go! **

**Kantra - Yeah, I've said forget it. I'll just update when I feel like it now. And just for the record, Alucard lived for almost 500 years so his meeting up with Integra will be several chapters later. **

**Gale Frost - No, I haven't read the manga nor have I had the chance to watch Van Helsing. And yes, I have a tendency to introduce too many characters in one story. It's a habit I haven't been able to cure so just as a heads up that will continue more so in chapter 6, I think. As for the powers, I'm sorry for that. I know I should have elaborated a bit more (I knew it!) I just couldn't think of a way to explain it. And no, never stop reviewing; yours have been the most helpful! (just don't tell the others reading) **

**Order 4: Conspiracy **

But Dracula was soon to learn that during the happiest parts of one's life, there is always someone trying to wreck it.

Adrian and Anton had been royalty in their home. The twins had been willing to leave that behind but they were not so loyal that they would follow any and all of Dracula's orders.

They planned an assassination.

The two met in the day time just a little before sunset when the creatures of the night would awaken. As for now, they were all dead to the world. They came together in the castle's grand library. Unbeknownst to them, Lisha lay, surrounded by a pile of books, napping.

"It will happen tonight," Adrian said solemnly. "While everyone is at the ballroom or outside the castle we will kill the King. He rarely ventures from his coffin on these moonless nights." From her place behind a book shelf, Lisha blinked coming to the world of consciousness. "We shall have the element of surprise. Count Dracula won't know what hit him and we will have his head." Lisha's eyes widened when she realized who was speaking and what they were speaking about. _Adrian__. Master of my Master._ She stayed deadly still so as not to reveal her presence.

"Mataji won't be anywhere near. It will be easy. Brother," he was suddenly passionate. "We shall be the only Nosferatu here." They went over their plan for about a half hour and only stopped when the vampyres began to wake up. As soon as they left, Lisha clenched her fists. "Those dirty rats," she said under her breath. "I have to warn Lord Dracula." She rose to her feet immediately and headed out. "Damn it to hell," she cursed.

The hallways were flooded with vampyres, chatting, laughing. Without the ability to phase, Adrian and Anton would get to the lower dungeons where Dracula slept before she did. Simply barreling through the mass amount of bloodsuckers was not a wise idea unless she wanted to incite a small riot. Instead she braced herself determinedly and maneuvered her way through the crowd with a skill and speed not seen before. They parted upon sight of the wild-eyed young Draculina.

Lisha reached the stairs and after a moment launched herself down the entire flight, feet first. Her panic was taking hold of her mind, keeping her from rationalizing the situation. The reckless move caused her to sprain her right ankle almost to the breaking point. She barely slowed and after two limps, the bone righted and reinserted itself.

She finally hit the bottom basement, the deepest part of the castle where not even candles burned. After having her eyes adjust to the dark, she found Dracula's room. The door was huge, branded with an odd insignia. She pounded on the door. "Lord Dracula! Lord Dracula, please, I must speak with you!" She heard stirring from within and in moments the door was open and he stood before her.

She was momentarily stricken. He was much taller than her and he looked down at her with narrowed, red eyes. His face was handsome and lean and he had all the regal bearing of a nobleman. His black cape reached the ground. "What is it?" he asked, his voice strong and hard. She flinched and bowed, low and respectful. "My lord," she said patiently, somewhat choked up. "I...have news of an impending plot to kill you." He looked genuinely surprised then a smile crossed his face, a huge fangy grin that caused Lisha to take a small step back.

"Well that is most interesting." He looked through her mind briefly. "Adrian and Anton. I suspected those worthless rats capable of such treachery." He looked down at her with a lessened smile. His hand lifted and she felt the silky caress of his white glove on her head. "You've done well by informing me, Lisha." She looked at him, love and admiration shining in her small red eyes. "What are you going to do, my lord?" He lowered his hand to his side. "I'm going to show them what happens to traitors and usurpers. Now," he said looking back up the stairs. "Go on with you and watch for me later. I'm sure it'll be a fun show." She smiled brightly and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, my lord." And she fled back up the stairs.

Dracula smiled at her departing form then shut the door of his room. He returned to the chair seated by his coffin and interlocked his fingers, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. He branched out mentally and found them, a couple of black snakes slithering about some three floors above. Dracula closed his eyes and waited.

They descended upon the room about a half hour later without warning. The two dropped through the ceiling and landed on the floor, silently. They launched forward, Anton in the lead and Dracula could hear a sword slicing through the air. Adrian wrapped his fist in Dracula's long hair and yanked his head back, exposing his neck. The Vampyre King growled loudly. He knew this was going to happen but the assault was a massive affront to his person. And his hair.

Anton rose up from his crouching position, the sword held firmly in both hands. Dracula glared at him and in a swift motion, he'd been decapitated. Well, that was new.

Adrian grinned and kicked Dracula's head to the door. "How the mighty have fallen." He picked up the head and pushed open the door. "Come. The people deserve to know of their new leaders, no?" Anton followed slamming the door behind him. Dracula's body began to liquefy and turn to blood...

The Dance was going on with Elena and Stefan dominating the floor. The smell of blood began to turn some heads and soon everyone in the Grand Hall had begun to search for its source. Adrian and Anton appeared on the balcony, over the heads on all the other vampyres. The music trailed away and the Hall began to fill with questioning murmurs. Adrian's grin was of a great conqueror's. "Your King has fallen!" he boomed into the large room. He held up Dracula's head for all to see and a chorus of frightened gasps rose up.

Lisha was standing to the rear of the Hall with Mataji at her side. "Mistress Mataji," she whimpered lowly. Mataji had a small smile on her face. "Don't worry," she said quietly.

"But...I thought we could be killed through decap-" She was cut off though as Adrian began to speak again. "The Vampyres have a new order with us at its head. You!" He pointed at Mataji with a smile on his face. "You will soon be my bloodmate," he said with sickeningly conviction. "As soon as I taste that sweet blood of yours."

The No-Life Queen stepped elegantly forward, the dancers parting like a wave. Mataji tilted her head up to look at them and after a moment she rang out:

"You didn't think it would be so easy, did you?"

Adrian's sneer was wide. "Yes, I do." He waved Dracula's head around. "Is this telling you different, my dear?"

Mataji matched his expression. "No, rather the person behind you does."

The brothers turned in alarm at the same time a deep voice said loudly, "Control Art Level 2 Released."

They jumped apart seconds after a large black dog with several red eyes chomped down on the air where they'd been standing. Adrian released the head in his leap. "Hold those bastards!" Dracula commanded as Adrian and Anton landed on the dance floor below. Immediately, a swarm of vampyres surged forward and grabbed hold of the two. Adrian growled as he was forced to his knees. "Control Art--." The dog that had transformed from Dracula's arm gave a massive roar, cutting off any sound he made.

Dracula leaped next, landing in front of them. His grin was wide. "You pathetic worms thought you could kill me? You do not have what it takes to be a true Nosferatu; your blood stinks to high Hell!" The dog salivated, yearning to rip them to pieces. "Traitors. Will. Not. Be. Tolerated." He said slowly and deliberately.

Mataji walked to Dracula's side. "You have broken the first Code of the Undead. And as such, you are condemned to Hell." Adrian looked up and grinned at Dracula. "I shall see you in Hell then, Count Dracula." Dracula grinned back. "If the demons don't eat your stinking corpse first." The dog lunged forward and swallowed the brothers and their screams whole.

Dracula reshaped his arm and tilted his head back. "Let this be a lesson to anyone who thinks they're strong enough to take me on." As this thought had crossed no one's mind, the threat was void. Instead, a cheer began, a sort of Hail-to-the-King kind of thing.

Dracula allowed his eyes to wander around the Hall, basking in the loyalty of his fledglings, his family...

**YAY! I really like this chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it and I hope you'll take the time to review. Later, loves! **


	5. New Life

**Oh, thank you reviewers. Your comments are making me so happy. **

**Lord Makura **

**BadLuckCat **

**Tantith13 **

**Zizzi Hungarian **

**Kantra **

**Gale Frost - I'll do what I can about giving a bit more insight into Mataji's character. As for 'affronting Dracula's hair'? Yeah, that was the comedy portion. **

**Bringer of Fears - I'm glad you enjoy the story. As for your comment: In the anime whenever Alucard has to use his powers he says something like 'Releasing Control Art Restriction to Level 2.' But in my story I put: 'Control Art Level 2 Released'. I don't say he's releasing any restrictions because until Arthur Hellsing comes along, he has none. I realize perhaps it would be better for him to fight with his powers without having to speak any kind of words but I felt like putting it in, so there. Thank you for your comment. **

**Order 5: New Life **

Since that day they were no other rebellions to speak of. Life settled back to normal for the vampyres and by 1470, a decade later, their numbers had increased to about one hundred. The youngest vampires were about forty and looked no older than eighteen or nineteen. Monotony struck occasionally but the vampyres always found ways to keep themselves busy. A great disruption of life emerged when the first pregnant woman came to Dracula's attention.

He was settled in a tree watching the women swim and bathe below in the light of the setting sun. Perverted? No. The women, a little _too _proud of their bodies, had no inhibitions about appearing naked and had no care of who saw them. In fact, some considered Dracula's scrutiny an honor.

Her name was Felicity, a beauty with eyes as large as moons and hair like a silk waterfall. And currently a prominently rounded belly. Her velvet dress swished around her thighs as she stopped under Dracula's tree. "Lord Dracula," she said with a quiet voice like a tinkling bell. "Perhaps you could take a moment out of your...examination? I need to speak with you." Dracula flipped himself from the branch and landed on the ground in a crouching position. As he straightened up, his eyes caught sight of her stomach.

"You're...pregnant?" he said, incredulously. "It would seem so," she said with her head lowered, a small smile on her face. "I didn't think this was possible," Dracula said, running a hand through his hair. "And how would you know," Felicity asked with a tiny laugh. "You're not a woman!" She cleared her throat. "Before Kagan and I would have sex as humans would. But most recently we integrated our powers into it and...I think that's how it works." She shrugged. "I figured you should know about something like this."

Dracula grinned. "A tiny Dracula or Draculina padding their way through the castle? Mataji," he called over his shoulder. "Come here!"

"I come when I want to, not when I'm called!" she sang back.

"This is important," he insisted. He rolled his eyes back at Felicity who giggled. Mataji emerged from the stream, pulling a dark blue chemise over her head. "What's all the noise f-" she stopped when she saw Felicity's belly. "You're pregnant," she stated dully. "Thank you, my dearest, for restating the obvious," Dracula said with another roll of his eyes. Mataji lashed out and caught him with a punch on the shoulder, hard enough to crack a bone. He grimaced as his shoulder blade began to reform.

"I thought you said it wasn't possible," Mataji said to Dracula in a hushed voice. She placed her hands on Felicity's stomach and mentally searched the insides. The child was a boy. "Do you know how far along you are?" she asked looking at Felicity. She appeared troubled. "I'm not too sure. Three or four months, I suppose."

"Do you know the sex of the child?"

"I know how I could find out if I wished but I want it to be a surprise."

Mataji wisely kept her mouth shut then. A smile crossed her face. "This is unbelievable. You're going to have a baby!" Her excitement was contagious. Felicity gave a brilliant, fang-showing smile. Mataji took her hand. "Come. We have to tell. Girls!" She led her to the bank of the stream. "Look at this! Felicity here is pregnant!"

Dracula watched in amusement as the woman crowded and crowed over Felicity and her bulging stomach. The normally shy Draculina began telling them how it had happened. Dracula smiled, shook his head and headed off for a walk around the grounds.

A child, huh? Sounded interesting. Dracula had always been fond of children, despite the rumors he killed many during his reign as Vlad the Impaler. Those were not true; he only made them orphans. A little kid... The reason it was a rule that a child couldn't be made into a vampyre was because surely someone with the body of a child and the mind of an adult would swiftly grow disturbed. It was not wise. But if a child was born a vampire, instead of being made one, then that would present an entirely different cycle of growth.

As the sun began to set, the vampyres stretched and awakened with the night. The men emerged from the castle and prepared for their descent to the village. It was hunting night after all, the night of the third quarter moon. Dracula noticed Felicity's bloodmate Kagan hanging by the door. Kagan sensed Dracula's scrutiny and looked his way, a nervous kind of smile crossing his face. "I assume you've heard by now." He smoothed his hair back with a sheepish expression. "I'm a bit taken aback to be honest. I'm not sure what to do."

"You just need to keep her safe," he stated. "And make sure she's comfortable. This child, the first born of our kind, could be the strongest vampyre we've ever seen." Kagan looked up, surprised. "Do you think?"

"Most definitely."

He smiled and looked out at the departing crowd. "Then I'll have to do double the hunting." He nodded his head. "Farewell, Lord Dracula." And he joined the hunting ranks.

By the next nightfall, everyone had heard the news and everyone came to see Felicity's protruding stomach. After an hour, Kagan scared them all away because Felicity was becoming flustered. She developed quickly, at an almost alarming rate. Her stomach was huge by the fourth month and during the fifth month the child's birth began.

Dracula was musing silently when the screams began. He phased through the castle to find its source and stopped outside of Felicity's room. Her closest friend, Rosie, had swapped her larger room with Felicity's old one to give her more space to grow. A regular bed and a child's crib had been moved in along with Felicity's coffin. There was a crowd at the mouth of the room, like a huge group of spectators.

"Disperse," Dracula commanded, snarling at the crowd. "You all look like gawking humans. Go on! Give Felicity her privacy." There were faint grumblings and after they moved away leaving a few to linger for some seconds. Dracula strode into the room. Felicity was lying on the bed, flanked by Rosie and Mataji. Felicity herself was currently clawing the sheets to shreds and piercing Kagan's hand in a bite that looked extremely painful judging by the wince on Kagan's face. "Looks like a real party," Dracula mused.

All the women in the room shot him a dirty look.

"Breathe deeply now, Licy," Rosie said firmly. "Five deep breaths then another push, okay? Go. One... Two... Three... Four... Five. Push." Felicity squeezed her eyes shut and gave an almighty push. Mataji, with her hand on Felicity's stomach, felt the movement beneath her hand. "It's moving. You have to keep pushing Felicity." She growled in response, releasing Kagan who snatched back his injured hand. "And what have I been doing? Taking a relaxing nap?" Dracula laughed loudly. "Ah, the miracle of childbirth."

"This is no child! More like a demon. Rosie!" Felicity barked, glaring at her friend. "Get this monster out of me." She was not, at the moment, the shy young woman they had come to know. Rosie saluted with a smile. "Yes, ma'am. Push on three. One-" Felicity was already pushing, gritting her teeth hard. The baby's head emerged and Rosie grinned in triumph. "Three more oughta do it, girl. Now push!" Felicity writhed wildly. "It burns! I feel like I'm on fire!" Mataji dampened a napkin and placed it on her forehead. After another twenty minutes, the child was born in a torrent of blood and Felicity fainted.

Mataji cleaned off the baby while Rosie wiped off most of the blood from Felicity and the floor. Dracula watched silently as Mataji handed the child to Kagan. The women crowded around him though, to gawk at the baby. It was a little boy, a healthy eight pounds. He wasn't crying loudly like a human child but resting. He gave a wide yawn and exposed two tiny nubs in the right and left hand corners of his mouth, the spot where fangs would later grow.

Felicity meanwhile gave a mewling yawn and opened her eyes, a little. "My baby..." she murmured lowly. "Is it okay?" Kagan handed the child to her. "He's perfect." Felicity cradled the child to her chest and watched him with her wide eyes. "Yes he is. My little son." Bloody tears welled in her eyes. "What are you going to name him," Mataji asked in a hushed voice. Felicity looked up over at Dracula who hadn't moved from his place leaned against the wall. "I will call him Vladimir." She looked down at the tiny child, choked with affection. "My lovely, little Vladimir," she said and cried crimson tears that the baby tried to seek out and consume.

Dracula straightened up and swept from the room, passing the curious onlookers. Mataji joined him later that night in his dark quarters. "I could hardly contain my excitement," he said as Mataji entered the dark room. He was laying face down in his coffin and Mataji came over and rested her hand on his back. " Vladimir is well," she said, sensing his thought. "Though Felicity is still very weak and tired. But the strangest thing...the air around the child is very heated. Isn't it interesting though?" she asked with renewed thoughtfulness. "I had thought a vampire couldn't give birth but now that I know differently..."

Dracula turned over and grinned at Mataji. "What? You want to try our hand at babymaking?" He gave a short laugh. "I don't know about that. But maybe my mind can be changed." The shadows around the coffin came to life and wrapped around Mataji, pulling her into his coffin. Dracula gave a wolfish grin and the lid shut on them both.

-

Vladimir grew swiftly. His appearance doubled with his age and so after five years he looked ten and so forth. He was lean and muscular with messy dark hair around his head and dark red eyes that radiated thoughtfulness. He was quiet in the company of others, shy like his mother, but outspoken when it was required of him. And he possessed a unique ability.

As a baby, he often had incurable fits of hiccups. And with each intake of breath, a small spout of fire would appear in the air around his head. It was an unexplainable power. At age six, he could command the fire at will and his Control Arts were very different from the other vampyres.

He spent his nights in the library and Dracula, realizing he had no one else to accompany him, would often follow. As he didn't socialize too often, his presence was not missed. "Don't you ever get bored," Dracula asked lazily one night with his feet up on a table. "And what would you have me do, Lord Dracula," he asked quietly with his face in a large geography book. "Make chatter with the lovely ladies who want to pinch my cheeks?" Dracula laughed and righted himself, putting his feet on the floor. "We shall go out for a hunt."

"But it's the night of Dark Moon," he said with faint surprise. Typically, the vampyres only hunted on the First and Third Quarter Moons. Dracula shrugged. "More blood for us then," he said simply. Vladimir marked his place in the book, snapped it shut, and rose to his feet. "Let's be off then."

The pair of them strode down towards the village. It was late enough that most of the village was asleep. They separated soundlessly, prowlers of the night. Vladimir strolled aimlessly when someone's presence caught his attention. He looked up and saw a twelve year old girl watching him stoically from the roof of her house. "Are you a thief," she called. "Do I look like a thief?" he asked with an eyebrow raised. She lowered her chin to her knees. "No, I suppose not."

She was a somewhat non-descriptive girl, pretty but not distinguishable from the others in her village. She was the perfect target; no one really believed children. (Well, not human children anyway.) He scaled the house and rose up beside her. "Do you live up in that strange castle?" Vladimir nodded. "I do." The girl looked at him. "I heard the women walk around without a stitch of clothing on." He looked faintly surprised. "Where did you hear that?" She shrugged. "My big brother and his friends spy on them some nights." Vladimir made a mental note to tell someone to up the security.

He then locked eyes with her. "You are going to remain perfectly still and not say a single word, understand?" She nodded her head, her eyes going blank and glassy. Vladimir raised his right hand and placed it on the right side of her neck. He stretched his thumb and pierced a large vein in her neck. He put his lips to the wound and sucked her blood. He drained three pints of her blood before pricking a finger with his fang. He squeezed a drop of blood onto the wound and it closed up and healed instantly, leaving no trace of its existence.

"Sleep," he whispered in her ear. Her eyes drifted shut and she lay back against the wood paneling of the roof. Vladimir climbed down and searched for Dracula. He was drinking more heavily from his victim. "Count!" he called out, jerking the older vampyre from his bloody reverie. "You take any more and she will die." Dracula sighed noisily and rose to his feet. "Her's is not so tasty anyway."

On the way back, Vladimir informed Dracula of the security breach. "Some human fools dared to come that close to the castle?" Vladimir shrugged while snapping his fingers. With each snap, a small fire erupted then died in the air. "Apparently so." Dracula nodded. "I'll be sure to scare them away good next time."

Vladimir's seclusion grew to the attention of several other Draculinas, who thought they just had to create a playmate for the young man. In another twenty years, there were at most eight vampyre children roaming the castle.

Yay.

**Yeah, yay. Can you imagine what a troupe of vampyre kids could do? Well, in any case that's the chapter for today. Keep reviewing, please. **


	6. Training

**Thanks as usual to all those who took the time to review:**

**Zizzi Hungarian  
Lord Makura  
Gale Frost  
BadLuckCat  
Kantra  
BlackWingsBlackSoul**

**Thanks guys, here's order 6.**

******Order 6: Training**

A vampyre child is a lot like a human child. Both can be wild, reckless, and inclined to make impulsive decisions. But a vampyre child is much more dangerous. The aggression in them is heightened and they are prone to arrogance.

In the six years after Vladimir's birth, four other vampyre kids were born, two males, two females.

Vincent was born first. He was a boy of determined resolution and often seen training to become stronger. He idolized Vladimir, trailing him around like a younger sibling would.

Phyllis was born next. She was the pure embodiment of the sin Vanity. The silly girl couldn't pass a mirror without checking her reflection. She cared less about training and more about keeping her appearance clear and pristine. Don't let her behavior fool you; she was sharp as a fox, a skilled strategist able to solve problems in mere minutes.

Maida was the third born. She was a slightly chubby, cute little girl, quick but somewhat clumsy. She was quick to react without thinking. She was Phyllis' opposite and the two were always butting heads. She preferred to work on her skill with a blade then worry about her looks.

Hunter was the last born and as the name suggests, he was an excellent hunter. He was fierce in battle and always looking for a fight.

Vladimir took it upon himself to relinquish his quiet nights in the library, a fact he later came to regret as the kids were always clamoring for his attention. He became their caretaker and their babysitter. Their favored activity was fighting.

One night, when the moon was half full in the sky, they were gathered on the front lawn of the castle. Vladimir surveyed them patiently then let loose a low sigh. "Begin."

Vincent stepped up first. "Control Art Level 2," he said. He put his hand together, making the same hand sign Dracula used, and the shadows began to slither and move, rearranging themselves to his will. They formed a giant hellhound from his left arm. Its many eyes rolled around, trying to focus on those around it.

Hunter went next, his cocky smile set in place. He placed his hands together, interlocking his fingers and released his Control Art. His shadows melted from him taking the form of a huge wolf. The wolf growled ferociously, its hackles rising, teeth bared. Then it tilted its head and gave a bloodcurdling howl to the moon above.

Maida stepped up excitedly. She put her thumb and forefinger of both hands together and shouted, "Control Art Level 2." Nothing happened for a moment until she closed her eyes and concentrated. Then the shadows grew next to her, forming a roaring tiger.

Vladimir surveyed them impassively then took a low breath. "Okay, the rules are the same: Fight until you can't anymore. Begin." And the three tore into each other without restraint.

Phyllis, however, was resting idly on the bank of the river. Vladimir had long since given up trying to coax her to fight when she didn't want to. And she often didn't want to. He concentrated on the others while she rested. Dracula, who was watching from a balcony overhead, was not inclined to let her lay about.

He jumped from his perch, landing directly at her head. Phyllis tilted her head back and smiled softly. "Good evening, Lord Dracula."

He grinned. "And a good evening to you, Lady Phyllis. Is there any particular reason why you are lying here while the others are training?"

"I have no need for such things," she answered dismissively.

"Is that so?" He reached down and Phyllis flipped over onto her stomach, preparing to push herself up but Dracula grabbed a hold onto the back of her shirt and lifted her into the air.

"You," he said, pulling her up to eye level. "-are a lazy, selfish, vain girl."

"I would think the No-Life King would be above name-calling," she said, struggling to free herself.

"Sounds like you've just instigated a fight," he said, setting her down.

"I have not!" she insisted.

But he was not listening. He drew his hand back and pushed her in the stomach, quite hard, sending her backwards. Her ruby-red eyes were wide in surprise before vanishing below the surface of the stream.

She came up sputtering to the laughter of Dracula, Maida, and Hunter who had stopped her fight to watch. Phyllis growled ferociously, pushing her bedraggled hair out of her face. She pulled herself up to the bank and stomped furiously towards the castle to change clothing.

Vladimir watched her go with a small smile on his face. "That was quite mean," he commented.

"But funny!" Maida added, giggling.

Dracula grinned widely.

Later, when training was over, the others went in search of Phyllis. They found her brushing her hair with the air of someone who was about to explode. They hung from her door nonchalantly.

"Hey, Hunter, were we going to go for a swim later?" Maida asked sincerely.

Hunter shrugged innocently. "Well, I had wanted to…but it looks like Phyllis beat us to it!" he said and doubled over in laughter, as did Maida.

Phyllis turned angrily and flung her brush at the two of them. They parted and ducked and Vincent caught it, eyeing them all with a cool eye.

"Stop fooling around," he said calmly. "The sun will be up soon."

"Does Phyllis plan to perfect her image until then?" Maida asked, giggling.

"Gee, Mai, that's big talk coming from someone who trips going up stairs," Phyllis hissed venomously.

"At least I don't go into cardiac arrest every time I break a nail," Maida replied. "Even when you can grow them back with no trouble at all."

Phyllis glared at her. "Tomboy."

"Princess."

"Dirt child."

"Prissy pants."

"That's it!" Phyllis slammed her fist on the surface of her table. "Kindly remove yourself from _my_ room. All of you. You are ruining my air with the stink of your training sweat."

"We don't sweat, Phyllis," Maida retorted, exasperated. "We don't even have sweat glands!"

"Out!" she shouted and pushed them all from the room and slammed her door shut.

"Why do we put up with her," Maida asked after a while.

"Because she's family," Vincent replied simply. "'Till tomorrow night," he said as a way of parting and headed off to his own room.

"I'm not tired yet," Maida whined.

"You will be once the sun's up," Hunter replied knowingly. "Get to bed and I'll spar with you, one-on-one tomorrow. I'll show you how to go to Control Art Level 1."

"Since when can you make it to Control Art 1? Only Vincent and Vladimir can do that."

Hunter grinned sneakily. "I've been practicing one and off during the days." He ruffled her hair affectionately. "Watch; I'll show you later." And with a vague wave he headed off.

Maida blinked in surprise then shrugged and went off to the comfort of her own coffin.

-

Vladimir was lounging on the balcony of his room. He was one of the few vampires that had a room on the upper levels. As a pyrokinetic, a natural aversion to the sun, the greatest source of fire there was, made little sense.

He found the hot sun comforting and liked to rest under its heat. He was sitting in a high-backed chair with his feet on the railing when he first smelled the smoke. Lazily, he ignored it, passing it off as something spontaneously combusting. Then he heard the screams.

He lowered his legs and stood up, opening his eyes. The nearest village was about half a mile away but he saw it as though it were half a foot away. Men on horseback – bandits – were terrorizing the village, setting it ablaze. Vladimir's eyes narrowed in faint disgust. It made absolutely no sense for humans to wage wars and fight amongst themselves. You'd never see a vampire committing such barbarism.

Watching carefully, he outstretched his hand. He could manipulate fire; there was no reason he shouldn't be able to do so from over a distance. Concentrating, he snapped his fingers. A fire that had almost completely engulfed a house was quickly put out. In that manner, he had stopped the fires in one minute flat.

He squinted, and his intent lit another fire, this time on the end of a horse's tail. The creature neighed in fright and darted away. In the same manner, he quickly expunged all the bandits from that area. When they had all gone, he settled back in his chair once more, shut his eyes and rested easy.

-

With the sunset came the nightwalkers. As usual, Phyllis separated herself from the others, fed up with Maida and Hunter's snide comments, and went to sulk privately. It was while Vincent and Vladimir were fighting and Hunter was instructing Maida on her Control Arts when the bandits rode up.

The vampires stopped at the sudden appearance of humans, about twenty in all, in their midst. Even Phyllis turned to glance warily over her shoulder.

"Where is the Lord of this castle?" the one in front – the leader, one would imagine – demanded.

"The Lord has no time for vermin like you," Vladimir replied easily. "You and your men should leave, before you are unable to."

The leader of the bandits snorted. "Not likely." He began circling the kids on his horse. "We heard tell strange things have been going on at this place. The villagers were quite willing to lend information. After a bit of _persuasion_, of course. They speak of monstrous creatures, animalistic beings that kill simply for the thrill of killing."

Hunter's fists tightened in anger. "This is the first time our food has actually been come willingly to us," he muttered. "I should enjoy this."

"If you think you can make a meal out of me, boy, feel free to try," the man sneered and raised a sword that had previously been sheathed at his waist. "Die, monster!"

Hunter readied himself in anticipation. None could expect the sight of Phyllis, hurling herself between Hunter and the bandit. She caught the man's blade between her fingers and snapped the cold steel with a twitch of her digits. Before the men could recover from their shock, she clasped her hands together quickly.

"Control Art Level 2!" she cried out.

An eerie silence filled the air. Then a low, frightful hiss as the shadows came to life. They rose up from the grass, like demons from Hell. Quickly, bending to Phyllis' will, they converged high above her head and in seconds had taken the form of a massive phoenix. The dark bird gave an almighty shriek that caused everyone, excluding the three male vampires, to cover their ears.

While they were doubling over from the pain of the sound, the great bird swooped down. It passed, ghost-like, through the solid ground and spread out, becoming a huge shadowy oasis. With the exception of every vampire present, the others were sucked down into the gloomy abyss.

Phyllis separated her hands and rose then up above her head. The phoenix appeared once more, hovering in the air, and the vampires could observe the men screaming for help within its midst. With a deft clench of her fist, the phoenix was crushed into a small ball of writhing shadows, crushing the men within and killing them instantly. Blood rained on the undead adolescents.

Everyone was silent for a moment before the sound of clapping brought their attention.

All heads turned towards one of the high balconies were Dracula stood, clapping with a wide grin.

"That was admirable fighting, Lady Phyllis!" he called.

Phyllis smiled softly, raising her chin proudly. She then looked at Hunter and Maida, blood splattered on her face. "Do you two have anything to say to me?" she asked, daringly.

They both shook their heads, dumbstruck.

Phyllis nodded. "I thought as much." She looked back at Dracula with a fond smile. "Even princesses can be adequate fighters," she said smartly and headed for the castle. "If you'll excuse me, I have to change and get the blood out of my hair."

They watched her go with something akin to shock on their faces. Dracula laughed at the sight of them. "Keep training or Phyllis will soon be able to beat all of you," he said.

And they did just that.

******Finished! And even better than the first draft, I think. I noticed that while the beginning of the first draft's chapter started with the kids, it ended with****Vladimir**** single-handedly getting rid of the bandits. So I shortened his part and let Phyllis be the star.**

******For those of you reading this for the first time, please review.**

******For those of you reading this for the second time, you don't have to re-review. (But it would be appreciated!)**


	7. Departure

**Thanks as always to those who reviewed the last chapter: **

**Zizzi Hungarian **

**Lord Makura **

**Gale Frost **

**BadluckCat **

**Kantra **

**BlackWingsBlackSoul **

**Order 7: Departure **

After the attack on the castle, the vampires were growing restless. They gathered together on the front lawn and demanded Dracula's attention.

Mataji found him lounging in the library, sleeping. It was rare to see him sleeping with the sun down; she took the time to observe him before gently shaking him awake.

"What a sight to wake up to," he said, smiling, then paused at the look on her face. "What's the matter?"

"We have a problem," she said softly.

"What? Is someone hurt?"

"Not that kind of problem," she said, evasively.

"Stop being vague and spit it out, Mataji," he said, rising to his feet.

"The entire castle is out front and they're talking about leaving," she said in a rush.

An eyebrow raised in surprise. "That _is_ a problem." He pulled his cloak about him and strode out towards the ground with Mataji following, looking nervous.

The crowd of vampires parted at the sight of him. The murmurs dulled to a sullen silence. Dracula surveyed them all with a level eye. Then he grinned and spoke out to them:

"So you all are thinking about leaving?" It was a challenge more than a question. Faint whispers traveled among the crowd.

"Well, aren't you?" he said, raising his voice. "Yes, that sounds like a splendid idea," he continued, his tone heavy with sarcasm. "One vampire goes out and bites someone then that someone bites another someone and pretty soon we've got an epidemic, a mass break-out of vampirism. Our blood is a disease!" he shouted.

Several different objections came up.

"I will not be treated like a disease or a savage. I know enough not to bite anyone waltzing through the streets," someone countered.

Dracula listened then closed his eyes in resignation. "If I say no, I'd probably have vampires sneaking off one by one during the day. Or I could simply forbid any of you from leaving. Disobedience to my word is death." He let his statement sink in then continued. "But I have no reason to confine you. You are all free to do as you please."

A roar of approval went up.

"Know that wherever you go," he called out to them. "You have the love of your fellows."

He watched them for the rest of that night, picking up and leaving, moving on to better things. He watched them go with a strange feeling in his heart.

"That is sadness," Mataji said, reading his mind. "You're _sad_ to see them leave."

He'd scoffed at her. "Don't be ridiculous," he said, dismissively.

Elena and her bloodmate came up to him before leaving. Elena was beaming. "My lord," she gushed. "I will grace the greatest stages of this world!" And she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He watched her shoulder her bag, take Stefan's hand, and set out.

Lisha and Olena came about midnight. "Fare thee well, Lord Dracula," Lisha giggled.

"Where will you go?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Some place hot for sure." She grinned wide. "I will return soon, m'lord." She bowed respectfully and pulled Olena along with her.

They left in pairs and packs, not traveling alone their first day out. He watched Vincent, Hunter, and Phyllis a bit aways off. They were saying goodbye to Maida who looked sullen and stubborn. He walked up to them.

"You are staying?" he asked Maida.

"I like it here," she said, sullenly. "It's the only home I've ever known."

"Aw, let her stay," Hunter groaned. "We're wasting valuable moonlight." And he started off.

Vincent looked at Dracula and allowed him a brief smile. "When we meet again, I will have become a stronger man," he said confidently. And he too followed after Hunter.

Phyllis hesitated, suddenly looking very shy. Then swiftly, she rose to her toes and kissed Dracula softly on the cheek. Blushing madly, she nodded her head and turned away, saying goodbye to Maida once more, to follow the boys.

Despite the sadness he felt, he was also happy. He was happy they were expanding and getting a chance to see the world.

"You are leaving as well?" he asked of Mataji.

She grinned widely. "Well, why not? I'm getting kind of tired of this dingy old castle," she teased. She grew serious and looked at him. "Don't forget me?"

"Never."

She smiled. "Reminiscing is nice but don't dwell too long. Monogamy is for mortals."

"You should hurry. The sun will be up soon and I might just be compelled to keep you here."

She smiled at him and gave him a fierce kiss on the lips, tangling her fingers in his hair. He responded quickly, almost cutting into her lip with his fang before she pulled away, breathing heavy. "I am going to miss that." She nodded and turned away. "I'm going to go before I start crying but Dracula-" and she looked at him with bright crimson eyes filled with love. "-I will come back. For you."

And she left too, on the tail of shadows.

He took a deep breath. It was time for bigger things and at the beginning of the sunrise he, too, left the Vampire Castle.

-

Dracula traveled for days that slowly lengthened into weeks. He knew not where he was going but figured once he got someone interesting he would stop. And he did. In a small area of India called Rajastan his attention was caught by a young woman, stalking the shadows, lusting for blood...


	8. Sita of the Night

**Thanks as always to those who stopped and reviewed: **

**Lord Makura  
Koori Youkai Hime  
Kantra  
Big O  
BadLuckCat  
Gale Frost  
Bringer of Fears  
Zizzi Hungarian **

**Now, onwards! **

**Order 8: Sita of the Night **

He saw her there, through the night, moving like a predator. She was a young woman of average height with straight blonde hair. Her skin was fairly light considering the constant sun in this area. She had his interest peaked. He was debating whether to reveal himself when the wind shifted, bringing her his scent.

"Who's there?" she said sharply, looking over her shoulder. "Don't hide now; I know you're there."

Dracula obliged her, stepping from the shadows and revealing himself. The woman regarded him, coolly. "Why are you following me?"

"Following? Don't flatter yourself. I just happen to be walking this path. You, on the other hand, are moving about like a wolf hunting a rabbit."

She glared at him. "Unless you want something from me, I wouldn't recommend pursuing me. I don't like being chased."

"Then maybe you'll explain why you're stalking the night with blood on your mind?"

She crossed her arms. "And why should I explain anything to you?"

Dracula rolled his eyes. "Are you always this cantankerous?"

She looked surprised then gave a faint smile. "Yes, I am. Usually no one calls me on it." She turned away from him and took a few steps. She checked over her shoulder, to make sure he was watching, then crouched down and jumped to the adjacent building roof, some six feet above their heads.

Dracula smirked and phased there, ending up two feet away from her. She flinched a bit then recovered herself enough to smile. "So, you're not a human."

He straightened up. "What's your name?"

She hesitated. "Parvati."

"You're lying," he replied immediately.

She smiled, shaking her head faintly. "My name is Sita."

He nodded. "The truth."

She looked at him. "And yours?"

"It's Dracula."

"An odd name." She shifted her weight anxiously.

"So," he said evenly. "What's another vampire doing out here? Where are you from?"

"Vampire?" she raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you are?" Her eyes narrowed. "Does the name Yaksha mean anything to you?

Dracula shook his head. "Not a thing."

She kept a suspicious eye on him then smiled. "So, there are other creatures like me. How surprising."

"How long has your kind been around?" he asked.

"Oh, about three thousand years."

He was surprised to learn that he was not the first vampire created. But then who was?

"Who is the first of your kind?"

"That would be Yaksha. He was born not far from here, the incarnation of an evil spirit, a yakshini. Our numbers are dwindling because of him. He's sworn a vow to destroy the creatures he created. Every single last…vampire." She shook her head as though to clear the sadness then looked away.

"Why have you come this far?" she asked, staring at the sky.

"My kind has spread across this world, to travel and live. Nothing more."

She smiled softly and looked at him. "Then while you're traveling you should stay with me. At least for the time being."

Dracula grinned at her. "You would invite a stranger into your home? One that might steal the very innocence from you as you slept?"

Sita laughed loudly. "Dracula, there's not a damn thing innocent about me."

-

Their talks were odd, considering the topic. Neither had ever met a vampire like the other and the distinctions were decidedly different.

For instance, Sita's clan had no fangs or Control Arts. She had laughed when Dracula informed her of the use of his fangs. ("How very conspicuous!") Her clan pierced their victims with their nails and drank that way. Their powers stuck to sheer strength and vampiric will. And Sita, herself, was different.

She was a master manipulator, a sultry seductress, able to achieve almost any feat by the power of her eyes and voice alone. Dracula soon found out her powers of hypnosis were much greater than his. Her eyes were dangerous weapons in themselves. He had seen her wilt a flower simply by staring at it intently.

They played a sort of game together. Both would go out during the night and attack as many people as possible. Dracula usually won by a little more only because Sita did not have the ability to teleport.

It was on the third day, he awoke with the sun in the sky while she slept. His eyes were naturally drawn to her and he watched as her chest gently rose and fell. He looked at her pale neck, watched the blood flow underneath the skin's surface. He was tempted, indeed, having never drunken the blood of another vampire.

But that would be rude. He would just have to restrain himself.

-

He awoke one night to find her missing. Scanning out, he quickly located her sitting on the roof and phased up there making her jump.

"I don't think I could ever get used to that," she said, grimacing.

"You would after a while," he responded.

She turned away from him and looked back at the setting sun.

"What troubles you?" he asked after a moment.

"My time has come to leave this place. I've been here for a long while," she said, looking up at the sky. "And my lack of aging is sort of drawing attention. Not to mention the fact you and I go out blood hunting almost every night."

He nodded, feeling it was about to set out anyway. "Then I'm grateful for the stay."

Sita looked over her shoulder at him and smiled kindly.

She carried a small bag with her and the two traveled together for some time before coming to a fork in the road.

"Well, that's cliché," Sita said after a moment. She looked at Dracula and smirked. "I assume you'll take the left-handed path?"

He snorted derisively. "Do not be so presumptuous," he said and headed to the right.

Sita walked to the left then stopped and looked at him. "Do you think we'll meet again?"

He shrugged. "If Yaksha doesn't kill you first, yeah. Why not?"

Her face broke out in a smile and she crossed the distance between them and gave him a swift kiss on the cheek. "We will cross paths again," she said confidently. "I'm sure of it." She smiled brightly at him and turned away once more to travel her own way.

Dracula watched until she was out of sight then continued on his journey.


	9. Land of Sand

Notice: Okay, here is an update on this story's status

Notice: Okay, here is an update on this story's status. I'm finding it quite impossible to restore all the lost chapters in a reasonable time space and so I've decided to just continue on with the story. But I will be leaving spaces where the lost chapters are so the reviews and new chapters will be correctly aligned up.

So, I apologize to any first time readers who haven't read Chapter 9-11 & 13. I've paused at restoring them for now but I am _not _giving up. There's nothing much more I can say but enjoy the rest of the story.

**Order 9: Land of Sand**

**Summary:** Dracula's travels bring him to Egypt where he meets Tabia, an energetic young vampire of his clan.


	10. Beautiful Deceit

**Order 10: Beautiful Deceit**

**Summary: **Dracula passes through a village in Bucharest, very near where he was brought up, and meets the fierce, twenty-two year old Constance, a woman displeased with her strict upbringing and arranged marriage. When he decides to make her his first vampire since leaving home, Dracula may soon learn that she is not as innocent as she appears and may just end up being conned.


	11. Family Ties

**Order 11: Family Ties**

**Summary: **Dracula moves on. He decides to investigate what has become of his old family castle and finds a pair of adolescent siblings who turn out to be his great grand-children, Princess Zsuzsanna and Prince Arkady. He proposes a deal to the thirteen year old Zsuzsanna: if she and her brother can retain their innocence until both are seventeen, he'll return and turn them into vampires.


	12. Harsh Fates

**Thanks as usual to those who reviewed the last chapter:**

**Shidori**

**Zizzi Hungarian**

**BlackWingsBlackSoul**

**Kantra**

**Lord Makura**

**BadLuckCat**

**Now onwards!**

**Order 12: Harsh Fates**

His travels brought him to a new land, foreign and unfamiliar. He crossed many seas to get there. When he did finally arrive, it was dusk, and the setting sun was turning the sky orange and pink. Dracula seemed to be getting many strange looks but he opted to ignore them. The people spoke a language he did not recognize. He took it upon himself to snatch a passerby off the streets. With his pockets and veins full, he then proceeded to look about.

The No-Life King found it to be an interesting place. Through a bit of eavesdropping he learned the name of the area: Edo, Japan. He could say he'd never seen anything like it – though he couldn't say much for the food. Through his wanderings, he came upon a large crowd outside a house. He paused to see what the commotion was and heard one word repeated several times.

"Geisha?"

It was another twenty minutes before he could enter and he was instantly entranced.

Geisha, he learned, were traditional, female entertainers, whose skills included performing various Japanese arts, such as classical music and dance. Dracula had never seen anything like it. The woman on stage, named Kuzunoha, danced with a captivating elegance that reminded Dracula immediately of Elena. As he watched the woman twist and bend in her fascinating display, he wondered if Elena had ever been here, if she could see the dancers that rivaled her own skill. And as he sat entranced, he felt the need to sink his fangs into the pale throat of that woman who held the crowds' attention so fiercely.

He waited patiently until the show had ended and made his way through the rice paper screens and spied on the geisha. Kuzunoha sat at a vanity mirror, wiping away the white face make-up. She caught sight of Dracula in the corner of her mirror and quickly turned, looking over her shoulder. "May I help you, sir?" she asked snobbishly.

Dracula gave a grin. The make-up was a true illusion. Without it, she was just another spoiled, stuck-up actress. He stepped forward and bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, Kuzunoha-san," he said smoothly.

She rose to her feet. "You are not allowed back here," she said and Dracula noted a hint of nervousness in her voice. "You will have to leave."

"Oh, I will," he assured her. "Just as soon as I get what I came for."

She backed up against the table as Dracula came close. His hand shot out and grasped her wrist, pulling her close to him, a poor parody of a lover's embrace. Before she could let loose a scream, he sank his fangs into her neck.

Oh, was it sweet, that thick, rich liquid flowing down his throat, satiating him. Her fingers clutched his sleeves, trying to push him away but still he held her tighter, drawing heavily on her life fluids.

A sudden gasp ripped him out of his blood induced stupor. He jerked his head up to see the fluttering tail of a kimono round the corner. The sound of footsteps brought his attention in the other direction. Someone was coming.

"Kuzunoha-neesan!"

Quickly, he lowered the woman to the floor gently and made himself scarce. He had to find and silence the witness.

It was a woman – no, a girl – and she stumbled over herself in her attempt to escape. Dracula only sped up, excited with the thrill of the chase. The girl tripped then scrambled to her feet but not before Dracula caught her around the back of the neck.

He slammed her against the nearest wall, his face looming near hers in the dark. "Wandering in the dark is a dangerous habit," he growled.

The girl was barely out of her teens. Beautiful, almond shaped, hazel eyes were wide with terror as she struggled to breathe. She shook her head wildly, sending her medium length black hair into a frenzy. "Please," she begged, her voice shrill and terrified. "Whatever I have seen, no other man shall ever know, I swear it!"

"You are quite right, madam," he said and lowered his mouth to her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut and gave a low moan.

"Hm…" He paused slightly, his fangs trailing across the skin. She twitched, holding her breath, her muscles tense as Dracula continued his examination.

She smelled sweet, he noted. Like flowers and fresh water. It was a natural scent unlike Kuzunoha's musky perfume. And she was young too. He decided not to kill her. He drew back slightly and she opened her eyes a little, peeking through her lashes.

"You are…letting me go?" she breathed softly, dread and hope mingling in her voice.

He smiled softly. "Yes. For now," he added, stopping her before she got too happy. "But I will be checking up on you soon, Miss…" he trailed off, indicated he wanted her name.

A faint look of sorrow touched her face. "My name is Meiko," she said quietly.

"Meiko," he repeated. "Look over your shoulder for me. I'll be seeing you." He took a step back from her and prepared to leave.

**"**That won't be necessary," she squeaked. Dracula turned and looked at her and Meiko shrank into herself in fear. "I mean," she continued. "I don't get out much so there won't be any...need to..." She trailed off and shook her head wildly. "I have to go now," she said and before she departed, she bowed respectfully. Dracula hung in the shadows and watched her make her way down the street and vanish into a house. He smirked secretly before going to search for a place in an inn for the night.

-

It was raining lightly the next day. During his exploration of the town, Dracula heard rumors about Kuzunoha and the famed geisha's attack. She was alive but bedridden. He shrugged, not caring either way. He found himself retracing his steps from last night and ending up in front of Meiko's house. But it wasn't exactly a house.

The front of the place had openings, like a wooden cage, through which about a dozen or so women were gathered. He stepped back and read the sign hanging over the door: Edo's Finest Enchantresses. The place was a brothel.

A slight frown crossed his face. He stepped forward again up to the face of the building and looked within, searching for Meiko.

"_Ano, ano_," a voice purred. "If it isn't a stranger." A pretty young woman sat with her back against the wall of the cage, a silver and black **_kiseru_** clutched in between her fingers. Her dark red kimono fell off her shoulders to reveal a significant amount of her cleavage. She smiled at Dracula with lips painted liquid red. "Shall I show you a good time, _gaijin_?"

He masked his revulsion with a cool smile. "I'm looking for Meiko."

Those red lips of hers formed a small O in surprise before she smiled again, resembling a tiger somewhat. "Meiko, Meiko, oh, you mean Tsukiko," she corrected him and looked over her shoulder. "Oi! Tsukiko!"

"Yes?" Meiko turned and paled considerably at the sight of Dracula. She rushed over, falling to her knees in front of him, her hands grasping the wooden bars. "What are you _doing_ here?" she asked, panicked.

"Tsukiko?" he asked, ignoring her question for the moment.

"Oh, they give us new names when we come here but my real name is Meiko."

The other woman suddenly spoke up. "How do you know this _gaijin_, Tsuki?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh!" She turned to the other flustered. "He was here last week, Yuzusu-sama."

"Funny," she said, blowing a trail of smoke from her mouth. "I don't recognize him."

"He, um, came when you were with Yamamoto-sama." Meiko looked towards Dracula. "You know the rules. I can't just sit here and converse. You have to pay."

He'd listened to the two speak then turned at Meiko's instruction. He walked into the establishment and up to the man who was obviously the owner. He handed him a single golden _ryo_ and pointed Meiko out of the throng. She shifted through the other women to him and took his hand, guiding him upstairs. When they got to their room, she slid the door closed behind them and pressed against the frame.

"What are you doing here?" she asked again. "I swear, I haven't told a soul."

He waved her away. "I don't care about that. It wouldn't make the least bit of difference if you told anyway." He turned away and seated himself among the plushy futons. "I didn't know you were...in this line of work," he said, evasively.

She calmed down and crossed the room to sit near him. "It's not the best of lifestyles," she admitted and poured herself a small cup of tea. "But I have to do it." She offered him another cup. "Tea?"

"No thank you," he mumbled. "Why do you have to do it?"

She seemed surprised that he had asked such a question. "Because. My mother died about two years ago and my family has fallen into debt. I was the only collateral so I had to take up the task of earning the money back."

He looked at her surprised. "How old are you?"

Her eyelids lowered sadly. "Eighteen."

For some reason, the revelation made his blood boil.

Meiko quickly changed the subject. "So, sir, would you care to tell me your name?"

"It's Dracula," he muttered distractedly.

An eyebrow raised curiously. "That is a most peculiar name. Where are you from, Dracula?"

"Transylvania." He looked at her with a faint smile. "Ever heard of it?"

She shook her head, smiling. "Can't say that I have." Silence fell and she fidgeted nervously. "You know, you're wasting an awful lot of money to just sit here and talk."

"That's my choice, isn't it?" he said, fixing her with a slight glare.

She looked surprised then smiled softly. "Oh, you're one of those kinds. Well, I guess that's lucky for me."

He looked at her, raising an eyebrow curiously. "One of what kind?"

"One of the nicer patrons. Usually, the men who come here are pretty single-minded. But every now and then, I get a nice gentleman who isn't here for that kind of thing. They're nice but they never last."

He scoffed and looked away. "It'll be a sorry day indeed when I have to pay for sex."

And so the two sat in companionable silence until the hour was up and the owner came knocking to tell him he would have to leave. He looked at Meiko before she would have to regain her spot as a caged woman. He would be back the next day.

"What's your interest in me?" she asked him after they sat silent for several minutes.

"That's a hard question to answer. In the past, I've always done what I felt compelled to do." He looked at her. "So why do you keep doing this? Why not escape like the first night?"

"Oh," she looked away, twisting the sleeves of her kimono in her hands. "There are guards in the building all night but they come to check on the girls every hour. The nearest point out of Edo is well over an hour from here and there are police and the like littered all over the way. It'd be pretty impossible." She looked up with a smile. "But I still sneak out sometimes to watch the geisha show. That's what I wanted to be as a little girl."

"My mother was a well respected geisha. But she grew old and when that happens, a geisha has to retire. She had saved a lot of money though so she was able to marry my father and have a family with him. Then she died and my brother and father went through the rest of her money too quickly. They had debts to pay and so they sold me to do it for them."

Dracula's fist clenched. "Why didn't you refuse?"

She looked at him in surprise. "I couldn't," she said simply, her brows knitting together in confusion. "I don't know how it is in Transylvania but women aren't allowed much free reign here. You don't have to look so angry though. I've accepted my fate."

He bared his teeth. "You mean, you accept the fate someone else decided for you. Once can make their own fate."

She gave a soft chuckle. "Oh, I suppose you're right. But it isn't so bad; I've gotten used to it. You know," she said suddenly. "Our professions are sort of similar. A geisha is judged as a moving work of art. She is set upon a pedestal for the world to see, never making her own choices. She cannot pick a man to love for she must be for the world's men to have. Similarly, a prostitute cannot love one man either." Her voice hid a tone of bitterness.

He reached out then, suddenly, grabbing her wrist and pulled him to her. He caught the look of surprise on her face before his arms wrapped around her and he held her close. Her muscles were tense before she relaxed, bending her body into the hug.

"Don't feel sorry for me," she murmured softly.

"It isn't fair," he responded.

"Life rarely is," she said.

And they sat that way together, Dracula cradling all that was unjust in his world, Meiko simply sitting through another night of her wretched life. She knew not to get too attached; good things never lasted.

He lowered his head and whispered into her ear, "I'm going to get you out of here."

She looked up at him. "What?"

-

Dracula devised the plan. She would sneak out after one of the usual check-ins by the guard. He would make his way from the path leading out of Edo, dispatching the guards as he went and they would meet up at the middle. From there it would be easy enough to escape Edo, hopefully unscathed.

Meiko breathed heavily, hidden under her covers, feigning sleep as one of the brothel's many bouncers opened her door to make sure she was still there. As the door slid closed again, she sat up quickly. She tied her sheets together and attached it to the balcony railing as she had many times before. Holding her breath, she slowly descended the building and landed on the ground below. She gave a relieved breath and brushed herself off before heading off into the night. She should have taken the time to look up and notice Yusuzu, tracking her movements from her window.

Meiko was stealthy in her movements, ducking into the shadows when she thought she heard someone coming. She traveled for about a half hour when she began feeling victorious. _This could work, _she thought excitedly. _I could make it. I might become a geisha or open an okiya of my own. I could actually be –_

A sudden pain cut through her back. It didn't hurt though; she felt disconnected from the pain, from the downward fall, from the roaring shout of "MEIKO!" that passed through her ears.

She fell forward onto the ground and could only watch as feet moved in and out of her vision. The sound of cursing, the clang of blades, rang out around her but she couldn't move her head to watch. Dimly, she registered she had been stabbed in the back by a katana. She closed her eyes and sighed softly.

The noise of battle died down after a minute or two and Dracula knelt before her. "Hang on," he said urgently and scooped her into his arms. He moved faster than anyone she had ever seen, she noted in the back of her mind. They stopped near a small river and he rested her gently on the bank. "I can close the wound. Just hang on." He raised his wrist to his mouth and made to bite but Meiko raised her hand weakly and stopped him.

"Don't," she said simply.

"But-" he faltered. "Why?"

"I'm quite tired of this life," she said softly. "Freedom in life is a concept not known to me so I shall take freedom in death." She closed her eyes and released a rattling breath. "I would like to see my mother anyway."

"But…" He fixed her with pained eyes. "I can save you."

A faint smile crossed her face and she looked at him. "You are a very lonely man, Dracula; I can sense it. I'm sorry but you will remain that way for time to come." His eyes widened as she spoke. "My suffering is ending. But yours is no where near through," she said softly.

Saddened, he lowered his head and kissed her gently, breathing in her scent one last time before her breathing stopped and her body went still. He carried her into the water and watched as her body slipped under the surface.

He made his way back to the main village and promptly sent fire to the brothel. He watched as the women escaped the burning structure. His eyes caught Yusuzu rushing through the crowds, to freedom, and he followed.

Dracula watched as she stopped, catching her breath, a victorious grin on her face before he landed in front of her. She had little time to react before he lashed out, thrusting his hand through her chest. It was poetic justice that she should die right after being freed. Just like Meiko.

The next night he departed from Japan, never to return to that place again.

**Quickly, some terms:**

**Ano – Japanese for 'well'  
Gaijin – Means foreigner.  
Kiseru – A Japanese pipe. Most feudal animes will show it but you can google at all the same if you're curious.  
Okiya – A house where geisha are trained**

**Alright, leave a review!**


	13. Renegades

**Order 13: Renegades**

**Summary: Dracula catches wind of a widespread threat when he meets Helena, a child turned vampire. Apparently, there's a band of vampires biting people with reckless abandon. So now, Dracula has to move fast to squash the renegade disease before its too late.**


	14. Vivien, Redheaded Beauty

**Thanks to those who have reviewed my last chapter:**

**Gale Frost  
BlackWingsBlackSoul  
blackwolfgirl88  
Kantra  
Zizzi Hungarian  
Lord Makura**

**Order 14: Vivien, Red-Headed Beauty**

Dracula traveled the world, hunting down the renegades relentlessly. He went far and wide, putting an end to those that had besmirched his clan. He followed them, ending up in the northern hills of Ireland.

He had taken a short break from hunting the rouges and was enjoying the scenery when he came to a wooded area. He walked among the trees, idly amused. Such a setting could only beget a lovely young maiden with an even lovelier neck to bite.

He was surprised then to find one.

He saw her, sitting in front of a small brook, squatted down on her haunches and drawing circles in the dirt. He appreciated the irony. He was debating whether to use charm or force when she suddenly spun around.

"No use hiding," she called roughly. "Show yourself!" She turned her head this way and that to ascertain his location.

Dracula watched her silently. She was beautiful and that alone almost made him turn and walk off. He had an amazing penchant for picking up beautiful (and dangerous) women. She had a mane of red hair that flowed down her milky white shoulders like fire. Her moss green eyes were currently narrowed in suspicion.

"Come out," she called again.

"I would loathe to disobey the command of such a beauty," he replied charmingly and her eyes stopped their search, landing on him.

"You're trespassing," she said vehemently, taking an aggressive stance. "I suggest you leave at once."

He leaned against a tree, eyeing her amusedly. "And what are you going to do if I don't?"

Her fists clenched. "If you think you can take advantage of me, I'd advise against it. I'm not all I seem. And you can't hurt me."

"I've no desire to fight with you, Miss… What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't say," she retorted. She bent down and gathered up a small stack of books that had lain in the grass. "Go away," she said simply.

He did not, as expected. He swept silently towards her and quickly snatched one of the books from her hands. She made an objective sound and reached out for it but he quickly moved out of her grasp.

"Poetry for the Ages," he read off the title. "An interesting subject."

She turned in his direction, keeping her eyes on the ground. "Do you read poetry?" she asked curiously.

"I'm afraid I don't have much of a flare for it," he said dismissively. "I take it you're a poet."

"Poetess," she responded smugly and held out her hand. "May I have my book back, please?" she asked sweetly.

He was handing it out to her when something about her face caught his attention. Her eyes…they were green but clouded as though a faint veil had been pulled over them. "What's wrong with your eyes?" he asked.

Her eyes narrowed and she reached out and snatched her book away from him, moving her arm in a wide arc. "Nothing," she said softly and turned away. "I have to go now." 

"What's your name?" he asked suddenly and she stopped in her walk. She looked over her shoulder and smiled softly. "It's Vivien," she said. "Vivien Ripley."

"Miss Ripley, I'll be back here tomorrow," he said confidently.

"Oh?" She turned fully. "And why is that?"

"So you can read me a poem." He chuckled lowly. "Until then." He waved and turned off. She stayed there for a moment then waved back and headed her way home.

-

He was walking the streets late at night. There was another vampire in the area and he was on the hunt. He cut across the back alleys and the avenues to cut the other off. And he found her; a woman of about twenty with straight black hair lurking in the shadows, stalking a couple that were walking straight towards her hiding place.

Dracula waited until he felt her about to spring when he grabbed her collar and pulled her back into the darkness, covering her mouth and the sharp squeal she had made. The strolling couple passed by, harmlessly.

Dracula put his arm against her throat, pinning her to the wall. The woman stopped her enraged struggle when she caught sight of him. "You have the same eyes as me," she said softly.

"Indeed, yet we are not the same. My people would not needlessly attack someone in the dead of night."

A contemptuous sneer crossed her face. "Ah, you are one of the elder vampires, yes? You and your morals and ethics. Then let me tell you something: The age of the Vampires of Old is over. _My_ kind's numbers are too large to stop."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

He bled her slowly…

-

The next day around sunset he returned to the woods where he had met Vivien. She was sitting there, a book open on her lap, but she turned at the sound of his approach. "Hello," she called hesitantly. It was more of a question.

"It's me," he replied and she smiled. "And how would I know who 'me' is? You never gave your name."

"Is that right? Forgive me Vivien; the name is Count Dracula."

"Count. Are you a ruler somewhere, Count?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. A long way away from here," he answered offhandedly. He walked up to her and sat beside her. "Do you always come here?"

She nodded. "I live just beyond this pasture. This spot is very peaceful to boot."

"How old are you?" he asked, tilting his head.

She turned and looked at him, a smile crossing her pink lips. "Don't you know never to ask a woman that?"

"I never learn," he said with a smirk of his own.

"I'm twenty-two," she replied and took to staring out into the water of the brook.

"Now are you going to read your poetry or not?" he asked, his grin widening.

Her face lit up and her smile grew. "Sure, since you're so adamant. I know this one from memory. Listen:

My temper is as fiery as my hair

You may try to tame it, if you dare.

You're across the room trying not to stare

At the temptress with her bright red hair.

You can't help but stealing a glance

Or two, wondering if you'd have a chance

To caress the copper locks or to taste

The milk-like skin; no time to waste...

Your heart will hurt, your body will ache,

You've been warned, your being is at stake.

But if you're loving, loyal, patient and strong,

This vibrant red head will be yours year long.

She grinned. "That poem was written just for me."

Her voice…it had been mesmerizing as she recited the verse; him, unable to look away. She noted his silence and her grin widened. "That is just the reaction every poet wants." She rose to her feet and started off. "Come back tomorrow and I'll show you something even more amazing."

She was first as always, the next day, when she heard him coming she looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Sit down; hurry," she urged.

He complied. Scrawled in the dirt was a small circle with triangles decorating it. "What is this?" he asked curiously.

She smiled softly, knowingly. "Do you know anything about…alchemy, Count Dracula?"

He shook his head. "Never heard of it."

She nodded. "Few people have. My father is George Ripley, one of the most accomplished alchemists and mathematicians of his time. Alchemy is a science of changing elements into something else. People in the past have passed it off as evil magic but this is not the case."

"Now watch closely," she commanded and pulled from her pocket, a small blue ribbon. She piled it in the dirt, in the center of the circle, and clapped her hands together business-like. "Here we go." She touched the ends of her fingers to the circle and a yellow light emerged from the ground. Dracula's eyes widened as he watched the light eventually fade away to leave a small blue rose head in place of the ribbon.

"Amazing," he breathed.

Vivien smiled, picked up the rose and affixing it to her hair. "I'm an amazing woman."

And indeed she was. She took to reading him poetry whenever she felt like and Dracula could hardly keep himself away. He learned a curious fact about her. Her nerve endings did not reach to the surface of her skin. In short, she could feel nothing except for in the tips of her fingers. He had liked running his hands over her arms when she couldn't feel it. Though it was, admittedly, a bit mean.

One day, he found Vivien lounging in the grass. He walked up, silently but she did not acknowledge him. He moved so he would clearly be in her eyesight yet she gave no knowledge of his presence.

"Well now you're just being rude," he said and watched as she gave a violent flinch.

She settled down somewhat and grumbled, "You snuck up on me."

"Hardly," he scoffed. "I was right in your line of sight and you said nothing."

She lowered her head and was silent.

"What's the matter?" he asked, moving towards her.

"Stay back," she said sharply and flung a book his way. The book was way off course, flying to the left of him. He snatched it out of the air, eyeing her curiously then opened the book. The letters were upraised, rising right off the page to be felt, not read.

He looked down at her, incredulous. "You're _blind_?"

She flinched at the last word.

"You can't see," he said, moving towards her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She sighed sorrowfully. "Because then you'd want to take care of me just like everyone else. You'd treat me like an invalid when I'm quite capable of taking care of myself."

"You had me fooled," he said, a slow grin coming to his face. "The first day we met, when we parted, I waved to you and you waved back."

"I heard the movement of fabric against fabric. Judging by the height of the sound, I guessed you were waving at me." She shrugged. "And even if you hadn't, it was still a nice thing to do." Vivien smiled. "I've gotten good at fooling strangers into thinking I can see."

"Have you always been blind?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I had an accident – glaucoma – when I was fourteen. It was a long time ago." She stretched her arms over her head. "It's a relief not worrying about it anymore now though I was wondering how long I could keep up the act." She yawned briefly and turned her head in his direction.

"My father's out of town for a couple of days," she said nonchalantly. "Want to come to my house?"

He smiled at her.

Vivien led him to the Ripley Estate. It was huge considering only two people and a handful of maids resided there. She showed him around the place, her room, guest rooms, and finally her father's study. A document tacked to the wall caught his attention.

"What's this?" Dracula asked of her.

"On the wall? It's the Ripley Scroll, a cryptic collection of alchemic terms," she answered. His eyes narrowed as he read it:

In the sea without lees

Standeth the bird of Hermes

Eating his wings variable

And maketh himself yet full stable

When all his feathers be from him gone

He standeth still here as a stone

Here is now both white and red

And all so the stone to quicken the dead

All and some without fable

Both hard and soft and malleable

Understand now well and right

And thank you God of this sight

"What does it mean?" he asked, curious.

Vivien shrugged. "I've no idea. Some say my father's a bit eccentric. They might be right." She tossed her flaming hair. "Come on, I'll show you where you sleep."

Vivien led him to a guest room. "I don't know how long you plan to stay, Dracula…but I'm happy for your companionship." She smiled and exited the room.

Dracula ignored the bed and settled against the windowsill. There was no way he'd sleep during the night so he took to looking at the moon until he feel into a blank-eyed stupor, somewhat resembling sleep. He remained that way until he heard Vivien scream.

-

The noise was high-pitched and sudden. He jerked his head up immediately and phased out of the room into Vivien's. He saw her at the window, blindly swinging a letter opener at someone trying to force their way in. Quickly, he brushed her aside and pushed the intruder back the way he'd come, in a shower of glass. He stuck his head out and saw them, a whole band of renegade vampires, their eyes glowing with bloodlust. They were mobilizing, trying to break into the house.

He turned on Vivien. "Are you hurt?"

"Dracula? You…." She turned her head from him to the door. "You didn't open the door. How did you get in?"

"I did," he lied.

"You didn't," she shot back. "That door _always_ creaks and you _did not_ open it! How did you get in? What's going on? Who's outside?" Her tone was taking on a frantic note.

Dracula took a deep breath. "Vivien, I've little time to explain myself. The ones outside are called vampires as am I. We are not limited by solid objects and are unable to be killed. Currently, they're coming up to kill me and the same for you. But don't worry. I won't let a single one cross the foyer."

She absorbed this without protest. "This is _my_ house," she firmly. "I've lived here since I was born and I will not have anyone disrespecting it."

He was surprised and amused. "What do you – a blind woman - plan to do?"

Her eyes flashed. "There you go, treating me like a handicap. I may not be able to see but…." Her eyes widened with a realization. "Make me into a vampire!"

His eyes narrowed. "You don't know what you ask of me. You don't know what it entails."

But Vivien was not listening. She leveled the letter opener in her palm. "I care not. You'll do as I say." 

"And why is that?"

In response, she turned the blade onto herself. Dracula only just realized her intent when she pushed the knife and cut into her own liver. Blood spurted from her mouth and she fell back onto the bed.

"Vivien!" He leaned over, looking into her eyes. "Vivien, you fool," he muttered angrily.

She had a bloody smile on her face and spoke with shaking words:

The maiden's blood flows in a wave

But the handsome Count has the power to save

Will he save her life, will he even try?

Or will he let his poor maiden die?

Dracula sighed, resigned. "You're a brave woman, Vivien Ripley. Let's see how it holds up when you face the world of horrors I have." He lowered his head and sank life-saving fangs into her neck.

-

After he laid Vivien to rest safely, he headed downstairs towards the rouges that were trying hard to get his attention. _Bloody fools can't even phase yet_, he thought in disgust. He listened to the banging on the huge front door and when there was a pause, he flung it outwards, sending vampires flying.

"You wanted me?" he shouted into the night air. "Come and get me! We're going to have a grand ole battle!"

The vampires leapt in a wave and Dracula came, the force to crush them.

For nearly three hours, he whirled and slashed and ripped and tore, cutting flesh and blood and bone. It was beautiful. He was caught up in the animalistic joy of the slaughter, unable to stop. They tried to run when it (quickly) became apparent that they couldn't win but Dracula spared no one, showed no mercy. He caught those that tried to flee and snapped their necks, bathed in their blood.

It was a masterpiece.

By sunrise, when the last had fallen, Dracula was able to stop. Vivien would sleep through the day but he had to make sure she was not bothered. He went back into the mansion and packed a bag for her, including a few of her poetry books. This he shouldered, then gathered Vivien into his arms and headed out.

**Okay. Note: The first poem in the story was written by a woman named Vikki Tucci, not me. I really think that's about it for now. Keep reading. **


	15. The Plot Thickens

**Thank you to all those who stopped and reviewed:**

**Gale Frost**

**blackwolfgirl88**

**Lord Makura**

**Kantra**

**shidori**

**Zizzi Hungarian**

**And I think I can forgive my regulars who didn't review (BlackWingsBlackSoul, BadLuckCat, etc...) since the last chapter was only -shifty eyes- out for four days. But DON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN! Lol, j/k.**

**Chapter 15: The Plot Thickens**

_A grand castle...A war occurring..._

_There are dark bats, manifestation of shadows, and around them, fighting them, faceless men, soldiers. There's blood, oh so much blood._

_The soldiers are fighting trying to bring down the bats. The largest of them all rises above the battlefield. This is the bird of Hermes. He's furious. Bloodthirsty. His rage is painful to feel. He swoops upon the soldiers, opening his mouth wide, and swallows them whole. Slowly though, the bats begin to fall. They fall from the skies and turn to dust as they hit the ground. With each death, the bird of Hermes shrieks in pain. His family is dying around him._

_When they are almost all gone, one man, steps up. He's huge, as big as Hermes himself. With one almighty gesture, he's slapped the bat right back to the ground. The bird of Hermes struggles to rise but he cannot. He cannot move. His family is gone and he has nothing left. He shrinks to the size of a man. _

_The man who defeated him stands over him, silently. The bird of Hermes looks up and understands. He understands he has been defeated. Wordlessly, he brings his left wing to his mouth and devours it. He does the same to the right. He can no longer fly. He's been grounded to the world of man, forced to serve._

_The bird of Hermes was his name._

_He ate his wings to make himself tame._

-

Vivien woke up with a jolt, her eyes shooting open then immediately closed. The colors were so bright. What? Colors? She opened her eyes again, a slow smile creeping over her face.

"Yes, it's real," she heard.

She looked over and saw him sitting there, a small smile on his face. She could see him. His dark hair, handsome face, red eyes, fangs. She could see him!

"I can see," she said lowly in a trembling voice. "I CAN SEE!" she shouted joyously.

He laughed.

She jumped up from the bed and paused as her bare feet hit the floor. "I can feel things too?" She pinched her right arm, laughed at the sting. "I can feel things now." She looked at him, slowly then without pretense, kissed him rather roughly. Surprised, he was unable to respond before she pulled away, looking at him with all the love in the world in her bright green eyes.

"If I didn't love you before," she said slowly. "I certainly do now."

"You're getting ahead of yourself," he said, trying to calm her. "Sit down."

She sat, her legs bouncing excitedly.

"You need to be educated so pay attention. You're a vampire now," he stated bluntly. "And as such, you cannot go out into the sun."

"What? Why not?" she interjected. "I haven't even seen the sun since I was about twelve and now I'm not allowed out in it?"

"The heat of the sun will make you drowsy but if you go out into it, you will get very sick. Weak vampires even incinerate in the sun."

She pouted silently.

"You can't cross running water," he said.

She shrugged. "Fine."

"Your sleeping cycle is different now. You'll sleep away the days and move around at dark. You'll need to sleep in a coffin soon enough."

She grimaced. "How very morbid. Could you point out the positives, please?"

"Normal wounds will not kill you. You'll never age. You have super strength, sight, hearing, all those senses and a supernatural sense of perception."

She grinned. "I like the sound of that."

"But, in order to survive, you will have to drink to drink the blood of others."

She winced. "That's disgusting."

"I'm quite serious."

"Really? That sounds so...yuck. I don't think I'll want to do that." Here she rose to her feet. "The sun's setting in any case. Time to enjoy the night life." She waited no longer before exiting the house.

"Where exactly are we?" she asked looking around.

"The next town over," Dracula answered, joining her. "I'll take you back home in a day or so. It's dangerous at the moment." She nodded and spun in a circle, gazing at the sky.

"I had forgotten," she said softly, wistfully. "How beautiful everything is..."

And Dracula watched as she tested her new powers. He remembered doing the same with Mataji, so many years ago...

"How do you feel?" he asked as he followed her through the woods.

"Hungry," she said absently, trying to coax a flying squirrel from its hiding place.

"You're going to need to drink blood," he said.

She didn't respond, instead sighed softly as the squirrel jumped out of her reach.

"Animals tend to stay away from vampires," he said lowly. "But the good thing is now you can catch them."

Vivien smiled and jumped into the air, cupping the protesting squirrel in her hands. Her hunger was getting hard to ignore now. She sighed softly, running a hand over the anxious animal. "Fine. I'm too hungry now."

"Then come on," he said and headed for the town. Vivien released the little squirrel and followed him.

-

"This is a bad idea," she said tensely. "We're breaking and entering!"

"Viv," he said patiently. "Be quiet."

She glared at him but fell silent. Without hesitation, he pushed his way into a house, selected at random.

A woman sat at her kitchen table. Before she could protest, Dracula caught her gaze and placed her under a spell.

"What did you do?" Vivien asked in a hushed voice.

"Never you mind. Just hurry up and feed so we can get out of here."

She looked at him dubiously. "What am I supposed to do?"

He could smack himself out of exasperation. "Forgive me, I left the vampire instruction manual at home."

She crossed her arms and gave him a skeptical look.

"You pierce her neck here-" he pointed out a vein, "with your fangs and drink until you're not full anymore."

She looked uncertain.

He shook his head impatiently. "Watch, girl." He knelt before the woman and sank his fangs into her neck, softly.

"Yeesh," Vivien commented. "Dracula, I don't think I can do this." But as the smell of blood filled her nostrils she reconsidered.

"You're the one who wanted to be a vampire so badly. Well, this is what your immortality entails. Now drink."

Resigned, Vivien fell on her prey and drank her fill.

-

Vivien's reluctance to drink remained for a few more weeks. She enjoyed her new found strength and speed immensely, often speeding along plains with reckless abandon and falling trees with a flick of her wrist. She was well suited to the role. After three days, they returned to her house. Dracula quickly hypnotized all the maids so no one knew of the attack on the Ripley house. Things were just starting to get back to normal when Dracula was struck down with an unexplainable malaise.

He was bed-ridden for several days with a concerned Vivien at his side, who brought him blood and nourishment. Dracula, who had never been sick in his life, was baffled. He felt an intense pain in his heart and a strong lethargy claim his body. He became restless, insomnia gripping him and couldn't get to sleep during the day. In a few days though, he was fine again.

"Strange," he commented when he was well again. "Nothing like that has ever happened before."

And sadly, came the day when he would have to leave.

"I'm going with you," Vivien said firmly.

"What and leave all your poetry behind? You surely can't cart it around with you."

And she hesitated, reluctant to leave the things she most loved behind. But she remained resolute. "You gave me my sight back," she said fondly. "That's more important than any poetry book."

Dracula was happy, truly for the first time since meeting Zsuzsanna.

But you all know what happens when Dracula gets happy. Means some shit is about to go down.

Only after two days of travel, the thick smell of blood invaded both vampires' noses. "I recognize this blood," Dracula said softly, tilting his nose to the air. "Follow me," he commanded sternly and set off at a run, dread filling his heart.

He found her easily, a figure in the distance.

"No..."

She was staggering, stained head to toe in blood. Her hair, which she always made sure to keep pristine, was bedraggled and straggly. Tears fell from her wide red eyes and obviously each step was a struggle for her. She was dying. She knew it and Dracula knew it, no matter how he refused to acknowledge it.

"PHYLLIS!"

She heard her name called, swayed where she stood and dropped to her knees. Dracula was there, catching her before she hit the ground.

"Phyllis, who has done this to you?' he said lowly.

She shook her head. "They murdered them...Vincent and Hunter. There was no time to react..." She winced in pain. "Our people are in danger," she whispered, struggling to get her message out.

"Heal your wounds, Phyllis," he said urgently. "Do it now!"

"I cannot," she whispered. "Their magic prevents it. Lord Dracula," she said hoarsely. "You have to stop him before it's too late. Stop him before he kills us all..."

"Who, Phyllis? Stop who?"

She looked up at him, her eyes clouded with fear and death.

"Van Hellsing..." she said with her last breath.

**Ah ha! Finally we're here. Lol, it was short but I liked how this chapter turned out. FYI, most of the next chapter will not be told from Drac's point of view. Okay. The next update for this and Darkness Daughter will (most likely) be out in one week, next Monday. Read and review, please. OH! And in case you didn't get it, the first part about the battle was a dream/premonition Vivien had.**


	16. Pacts and Promises

**Ah, I love the smell of reviews in the morning. Here are the acknowledgements:**

**Lord Makura**

**blackwolfgirl88**

**Lady-Byzantine**

**Gale Frost**

**Kantra**

**BadLuckCat**

**shidori**

**Zizzi Hungarian**

**WillTheWatcher (Conclusion? What are you smoking and can I have some? Lol, no no no, the story is far from concluding. I'm gonna go through Drac's life with Abraham, Arthur, Integra, and even after that.)**

**BlackWingsBlackSoul (TYPOS?! Where? I don't see any typos. I spelled hoarsely, horsely, I noticed but were there more???)**

**Now, here's your update!**

**Order 16: Pacts and Promises**

He stood before her, unexplainably perfect. She was awe-struck for a moment.

"What is it you wish of me," The Dark Lord asked in a regal voice.

She bowed her head, humbly. "I want nothing more than a moment of your time. I request the power to turn the skies black and have it rain blood. I want to merge this world with the Underworld. Of it all, I will rule."

He raised an eyebrow curiously. This was a new one.

"What will you offer?" he asked after a moment.

"The blood of thousands," she replied.

He shook his head. "Unacceptable."

She reconsidered then cried out. "The death of every vampire on earth."

"You know of vampires then?" he asked with surprise.

"Yes. I had a man stay in my company once. A Count Dracula. He told me what he was and I drained his blood as he slept."

"I did notice a taint to you," the Dark Lord said lowly. "Most people are quite content with their own power, Dracula for instance. You are asking for quite a lot."

"Because I deserve it!" she interjected. "Because I have every intention to make it true."

"You will have all of Dracula's vampires killed?"

She nodded. "I will."

"Why?" he asked patiently.

"I will have no one challenge me. Especially not Dracula. Once I establish my power, I will be a goddess among men."

He listened to her then nodded. "It sounds interesting. I will grant you the power to merge Hell but you will have to work hard to do it. You have three hundred years to accomplish it."

"My lord, I am your humble servant. I will not disappoint you."

He took a step toward her and spoke clearly: "I rule all the vampires. I control their fates. Remember that." And he buried his fangs into her neck.

-

"Zsuzsanna?"

"Yes, mother?"

"Arkady hasn't returned yet. Can you please go see what's keeping him?"

The Princess sighed impatiently. "Yes mother," she replied and exited the castle to search for her brother.

It had been a long time, nine years in fact, since Vlad had visited their castle and made her a promise. He promised to come back for her when she turned seventeen. She was now twenty-two and she had received nary a letter from him. Her faith was strong, unlike Arkady's who ignored her warning and married at age twenty. His pregnant wife, Mary, remained in London while Arkady was home in Transylvania, visiting.

She still looked seventeen in the face, she reasoned. She thought up a dozen reasons why Vlad hadn't returned for her and continually excused him. She still thought of him to this day.

"Arkady," she called, navigating the forest. "Arkady, it's almost time for dinner." She continued looking for him, frustrated, before catching sight of him, seated on the ground, staring into the distance.

"There you are," she said breaking through the trees. "Come on. It's time to go home." She reached out a hand for him.

"She's so beautiful," Arkady said softly.

"What?" Zsuzsanna raised an eyebrow and looked in the direction he was gazing, her breath catching in her throat.

To say that she was lovely was to slight her. She was beyond beauty: regal as a queen in a modern cap and fitted satin gown of blue, with sapphire eyes to match, and skin as fine and white as an infant's. Her hair was tied at the nape of her neck and the curls brought forward onto one shoulder, where in the sun's glow they shone pale golden.

A soft smile graced her beautiful face and straight, white teeth gleamed at her.

"You would be Zsuzsanna, I presume?"

Zsuzsanna could have melted at the sound of her name said with the voice of this angel. Truly, if she were a man, Zsuzsanna might have fallen straight in love with her. She nodded dumbly.

"I am Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Csejthe. It is my pleasure to finally meet you," she said and held out her hand, gloved in blue silk and marvelously perfumed.

Zsuzsanna stared for a moment before reaching out with her own and grasping her hand.

Elizabeth straightened. "I come bearing a message if you'll accept me."

Zsuzsanna nodded breathlessly then looked down at her brother and kicked him. "Get up, Arkady. Quit gaping like a cow!"

-

Zsuzsanna escorted Elizabeth back to the castle and introduced her to her mother. With her natural charm and hypnotic eyes, Elizabeth was soon resting in the guest room of the Dracul Palace. Zsuzsanna sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her, trying to hide the adoration in her eyes and not look as though she were a fawning teen.

"I regret being the bearer of bad news but I have something to tell you regarding your uncle Vlad."

She sat up, her eyes brightening. "Is he well?"

"He is fine," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But of that, you should regret. Vlad's intentions were not as you think. I believe he promised he would come for you when you turned seventeen?"

She recoiled slightly at the knowledge she knew of their pact. "That is true."

"Well he was going to come but not for anything your mind might have conjured." She looked at her sternly. "He was going to come and kill you."

"Kill me?" Zsuzsanna's indigo eyes opened wide. "But why?"

Elizabeth continued. "He believes by killing you, your brother, your entire family, he will destroy the royal generation and regain his power as Vlad the Impaler. I've managed to hold him off for the past three years but I know that if you stay in this castle, you will be in grave danger."

Zsuzsanna was silent, thinking. "But why would you try and stop him? Why protect me, a stranger to you?"

Elizabeth graced her with a smile and Zsuzsanna felt her heart soar, despite the news. "I have followed his movements for several years now. I have seen him kill many and bathe in their blood. I did not want that to happen to you, a young girl in her prime."

Zsuzsanna fingered the purple edges of her hair. "He promised me..." she said lowly.

Elizabeth watched her carefully then spoke: "Did you love him as one might an uncle?"

Princess Dracul looked up swiftly, locking eyes with Elizabeth and she slowly shook her head. "No. I did not."

Elizabeth nodded knowingly. "He hypnotized you and made you fall in love with him to make it all the more easy to eliminate you. So Princess, what will you do now?"

Zsuzsanna clenched her fist. "He promised," she said bitterly through clenched teeth. "I wanted for him, since I was thirteen...Nine long years. And the love I felt was all a lie? All the possible suitors I let pass me by..." She shook her head. "I've been so foolish."

"Well, there is something you can do," Elizabeth volunteered.

Zsuzsanna looked up at her. "What is it?"

"Vlad told you what he was, didn't he? A creature of the Dark. Well, I can make you like that and we can combat him together."

"I do not want to be a creature like Vlad!" she cried hotly then settled down somewhat. "Are you one like him?"

"No. I am a special vampire, even more powerful than Vlad himself. I want nothing more than to erase his taint from this earth. I could transform you into a heavenly being."

Zsuzsanna considered, thoughtfully. "What are the conditions of this transformation?"

Elizabeth smiled at her, her sapphire eyes bright. "You will gain everything. And lose nothing."

-

Elizabeth kept her young ward at bay for a bit, allowed her to wonder before she would tell her the details of the transformation.

She led her to the basement where she had constructed the elaborate ceremony. She silently cursed this extravagant method; The Dark Lord had granted her immense power but to make sure she worked hard, she had no fangs. No simple touch and bite transformation. In its place, Elizabeth gained the knowledge of how to force a vampiric change. And it was this that she was about to perform.

Zsuzsanna looked around curiously at the room decorated with candles and strange inscriptions drawn on the floor. "What do I have to do?" she asked.

"Stand in the center of the circle," Elizabeth instructed. "And here-" she handed her a vial of dark liquid. "You need to drink this."

Zsuzsanna took the vial and stood in the middle of the circle. She inspected the liquid. "What is this?"

"Red wine," Elizabeth said with a wide smile. "At least you'll soon come to think of it like that."

Zsuzsanna uncorked the top and tilted the vial back, choking at the taste. "It's blood!" she said coughing.

"Drink it all," Elizabeth commanded and Zsuzsanna complied.

"Now stand very still." Elizabeth walked to stand in front of Zsuzsanna on the outside of the circle. She put her hands together and began a low chant. The flame on the candles rose with her voice and Zsuzsanna looked about nervously. Without warning, she felt her heart jolt and she crumpled to the floor. Her body began to jerk and convulse but still Elizabeth kept chanting. Slowly, her voice began to die down and Zsuzsanna began to still.

Elizabeth craned her neck and watched her, keeping at a safe distance. Zsuzsanna's skin was rapidly paling, her heartbeat was failing, the enamel of her teeth elongating into fangs. Elizabeth grinned widely. She crossed the line into the circle and pulled Zsuzsanna roughly to her feet.

"Zsuzsa, my dear," Elizabeth purred lowly. "Wake up..."

Zsuzsanna's eyes popped open, still purple. She moved swiftly, aiming to tear into Elizabeth's throat. Elizabeth entwined her fingers in Zsuzsanna's hair and snapped her head back, pulling her mouth away her neck.

"Tsk tsk," Elizabeth said with a smile. She looked into Zsuzsanna's mouth. "My, what pretty fangs you have, my dear."

Zsuzsanna struggled in Elizabeth's grasp, trying to free herself and rip into her flesh. Elizabeth freed her hand and took a step back. Zsuzsanna moved to attack but Elizabeth held out her hand, two fingers out and Zsuzsanna was frozen to the spot.

"I'll find you a nice meal in a moment, Zsuzsanna. But first you need to get yourself under control."

Zsuzsanna breathed heavily, glaring at her. Elizabeth's smile faltered for a moment when she heard the door to the basement push open.

"Zsuzsanna," Arkady's voice called. "You down there?"

Slight panic entered Elizabeth's eyes. She fixed her gaze on Zsuzsanna who had a wicked smile on her face. She threw off the binds of Elizabeth's spell and lunged for the stairs where her brother was coming down. She hit him hard, causing his head to bounce off the stairs.

"Zsuzsanna," Elizabeth shouted as Zsuzsanna was poised over her brother's neck. "DON'T!"

Too late.

Arkady shouted as his blood began to flow. In an instant, Elizabeth was at her side, ripping her from Arkady. She checked him quickly but the changes were already underway.

"You stupid girl," she hissed under her breath. She took a few deep breaths trying to contemplate this new situation. After coming to a quick decision, she grasped Arkady and dragged him into the darkness of the basement.

-

Elizabeth was silently furious with Zsuzsanna. She had unknowingly just severely complicated her plans. As if it wouldn't be easy to seduce Arkady, Elizabeth didn't seem him worthy of the effort. Now she had two wild vampires to contend with. Damn it all to hell.

She shook her head, trying to clear away her dark mood and try to find some positives of the situation. She could only come to the fact that two vampires would have a better chance of taking down another but still, she didn't want Arkady anywhere around her.

Currently they were locked away in their respective bedrooms, sleeping away the sun. But night would fall soon and both would wake with a newborn vampire's insatiable hunger. Elizabeth sighed and rubbed her temples. This just got a little harder.

She could hear the sounds of them rising from their sleep to enjoy the night. She left her room and crossed the hall into Zsuzsanna's. The young girl was staring out the window, fidgeting incessantly. She turned at the sound of Elizabeth's entering, tensing slightly. Elizabeth beckoned to her. "Come on, girl. We're going out."

Zsuzsanna grinned widely, rising to her feet, and joined Elizabeth at the door. They then went the other way towards Arkady's room. Elizabeth stopped in her tracks as she opened the door.

The room was empty.

The window had been smashed and Arkady was gone.

The realization seemed to hit Zsuzsanna, knocking her from her hungry stupor. "'Kady?"

Elizabeth crossed her arms. "Gone."

"Where?" Zsuzsanna asked, looking up at her, like a small child missing a favorite toy.

Elizabeth sighed. "That boy is such trouble." She shook her head. "It matters not. Zsuzsa, I recommend you forget all about Arkady."

Zsuzsanna looked at her with pain in her eyes. "But he..."

Elizabeth caught her gaze. "Forget," she whispered and Zsuzsanna's eyes went from painful to empty once more. "Let's go," she said briskly, taking Zsuzsanna's hand. "The night is young."

As she led her from the room, Zsuzsanna cast a look of sorrow at the open window.

-

A young woman walked the streets of Amsterdam, heading home from the shopping market. She sighed lowly, pushing her blonde hair back from her face and hurried forward. She was already late, needed to make another stop.

She pushed her way into her house, calling out. "Abraham. You here?"

"Yes mother," a young boy called, sliding down the banister of his stairs and landing on his feet in front of his mother, Mary Van Helsing. An eighteen year old Abraham grinned at her.

Mary frowned slightly. "Bram, you know I don't like when you do that. You could hurt yourself."

He scratched his head, sheepishly. "Sorry mum."

"I've got to run back out to the doctor's office but I want you to put away these groceries."

"Fine," he said. "I'll see you when you get back."

Mary smiled and turned back out the door.

Abraham rolled his eyes and headed back upstairs, ignoring the groceries for now. He'd been studying anyway.

Mary Van Helsing, once known as Mary Tepes, had moved to Amsterdam from London some eighteen years ago. Her then husband, Arkady, had gone to Transylvania for a family visit and had never returned. Mary had sent many a letter but with no response. Pregnant at the time, Mary moved to Amsterdam and remarried to Doctor Jan Van Helsing. Abraham had no idea Jan wasn't his biological father, not a Van Helsing...but a Tepes.

The adolescent kicked the door to his room open and fell onto the bed, snatching up the book he'd been reading, a tome on the subject of the occult. Abraham's literary tastes were usually limited to these kinds of topics of which his father, a realist doctor, disapproved of. He flipped through the pages, reading a passage on invisibility.

Down below, ice cream was melting.

-

Dracula stood with Vivien at the dock of a ship. Before she had completely passed, he took a small amount of Phyllis' blood. From her memories, he could sort out what exactly had happened. They were traveling together, her, Vincent, and Hunter, when a man they didn't know caught sight of the trio, their red eyes and fangs. Under the orders of a man named Van Helsing, the three were killed. But Phyllis escaped knowing her story had to be told. She had traveled for days with her horrible wounds, Hellsing's strange magic twisting her system and paining her immensely.

She had hid away from the Hellsing soldiers, listened to them closely. Abraham Van Helsing, the one in charge, was lodged in London, England, with a troupe of expert vampire slayers. It was there that Dracula had to go.

Vivien had scooped up Phyllis' ashes and spread them among a field of flowers as beautiful as Phyllis herself used to be. And when she returned, Dracula told her his plan. He gave her a sample of his blood and instructed her to go to the vampires' castle in Transylvania while he went after Van Helsing.

"Will you be alright?" Vivien asked worriedly, as they watched the ship ready for departure.

He was somber, angry. "I'll bring Van Helsing's head back on a pike. He will pay for what he's done." He looked down at her. "You need to go as quickly as possible. When you arrive ask for a woman named Felicity. She will get you familiar with your surroundings. There you will be safe."

Vivien bit her lip nervously then wrapped her arms around Dracula's body. He paused, and then reciprocated after a moment, holding her tenderly.

"Come back to me," she whispered.

"I will," he promised.

She stood at the dock and watched as the ship set sail...

**Okay, the order was a little weird huh? Let's say the Elizabeth situation happened somewhere in between Helena's and Vivien's chapter. The Abraham situation happened after a long time after that and the ending with Drac and Viv happened even longer after that. If I could make it simple I would but that's not in my nature.**

**Anyway, please keep reading and please keep reviewing.**

**((P.S: Elizabeth (spelled Elisabeth) is a character of Jeanne Kalogridis' 'Dracul Diaries' trilogy. She is not an original character of mine.)**


	17. Face to Face

**Yeah super sorry for the delay but I've been bogged down by homework and progress reports. Major bummer. Anyway, reviewers:**

**Gale Frost**

**Kantra**

**Lord Makura**

**BlackWingsBlackSoul**

**BadLuckCat**

**Once again, sorry for the wait. Here you go!**

**Order 17: Face to Face**

Abraham grew swift and strong. He became a physician and lived a carefree life, for the most part. When he was twenty-eight years old his mother, Mary, developed a grave sickness. It didn't appear to be a well-known illness. His doctor father was baffled. Abraham traveled to his parents with the intent to inspect his mother. He did so and he saw that the illness was not something medical...but magical. What the exact cause was he did not know. He kept his discovery from his father.

He received a telegram from his father one day in early April, stating that his mother's condition had worsened. Whether she would live or die remained to be seen. Abraham packed his things the next day and headed to his parents' house.

An accident on the road delayed his trip somewhat. He arrived a week later than expected. With a heavy sigh, he pulled up to the house and hefted his luggage from the carriage. The door was unlocked, as always, and Abraham pushed his way in effortlessly.

He stopped, frozen, as the door slammed behind him. The distinct smell of blood was in the air and a lot of it. Abraham closed his eyes, willing away the smell, hoping to make it disappear. The thick, suffocating scent invaded his nostrils, forcing him into motion. He looked around and climbed the stairs, uttering a prayer as he went. "Father?" he called and he heard his voice tremble. "Mother?" He stopped outside their bedroom where the smell was heavily concentrated and pushed open the door.

-

It had taken next to nothing for Arkady to escape from Transylvania. He busted himself out of his room one night and left it all behind. His concern for his sister was minimal as she wasn't herself since the transformation. She had become a bloodthirsty beast whose leash was held in Elizabeth's hand. He left her behind.

He had been missing in Transylvania for three years when he returned to London and discovered Mary no longer resided there. He followed the forward address to a small town in Amsterdam where he learned Mary had remarried and given birth to their son. He felt sorrow at first, some jealousy, but the feeling subsided when he saw her, his beautiful Mary beaming at her new husband. With a heavy heart, he turned away, deciding not to reveal himself to her.

But he stayed close, watching her at a distance, watching his young son grow and mature. He loved Abraham like no other even if he called someone else 'father.'

It pained Arkady's heart to see his Mary grow old and eventually sick. He debated constantly with himself to visit her, give her his blood, but something always kept him at bay. When he learned from a gossiping voice that she might die, he made his decision.

He was walking the streets, stalling for time a little, before turning onto her street. Immediately, he noticed their front door was open. His stride picked up and he walked into the house without hesitation. The smell of blood was thick. "Mary?" Arkady shouted and made his way up the stairs, forgetting for a moment that he could have phased there. He rushed to the bedroom at the end of the hall where the blood smell was thickest and pushed open the door.

A man with blood circling his mouth looked up from the floor where he knelt over two corpses: Jan and Mary Van Helsing.

The man gave a wicked grin, displaying three inch long incisors. "Go find your own meal, pal," he said in a low, gravelly voice.

Arkady's breath was shallow, his fist slowing clenching. He looked at Mary. She was looking at him. Still alive. The wound in her neck was deep though and she would bleed to death in seconds.

"You've killed a sick woman," he said lowly. "An old woman."

"They're easy prey, mate," the vampire said with laughter in his voice.

Arkady's eyes turned completely red, sightless, but his instinct told him where to strike. He lashed out with supernatural speed and ripped the vampire's throat from his body. The other gave a gurgling cry and his body dissolved into dust.

Arkady knelt by Mary. She looked at him, a tiny smile on her face. "Arkady..." she whispered softly. It was the last thing she would ever say. He cradled her head in his lap, lowered his head. "Mary..." he whispered just as she did. And then he began to weep silently.

And that's how Abraham found him.

-

At the sight of his dead parents Abraham had instantly whipped out a knife. Not hesitating, he lunged forward and plunged it into the back of Arkady's neck. Arkady did not even flinch. He had not taken his eyes off Mary's face even when Abraham entered the house, when he heard him call for his mother and father.

Abraham gasped quite audibly when he saw the wound begin to knit together and heal. "You son of a bitch!" he shouted and stabbed again. Again he watched as the stab wound closed. He attacked again and again until Arkady rose to his feet. He effortlessly knocked the knife from Abraham's hand. The man turned into a boy as his gaze went to the dead. "Why?" he said painfully.

Arkady's eyes were emotionless. He wanted to reach out and draw him close. My son...he said inwardly but he did utter these words out loud. It would be better for Abraham to die thinking he was his enemy.

Keeping their eyes locked, Arkady vanished.

-

Abraham held a private funeral with only a few of his parents' close friends invited. They gave their condolences and departed but Abraham stayed long after the mourners, pallbearers, gravediggers, and the priest had left. He stared sorrowfully at the graves, his fists clenched.

"No matter how imminent, death is never welcomed."

Abraham did not turn. Abraham did not speak.

"You have been exposed to one of the horrors of this world," the voice continued.

The stranger stepped up beside him and Abraham looked to the side to see him. He was taller than him but looked a lot younger. His eyes were a deep black, his skin smooth and untouched. Black hair flowed down past his waist.

"You didn't know them," Abraham said lowly. It wasn't a question.

"I did not," his voice was rich and regal. "But I know what murdered them."

Abraham whipped his head around and fixed his eyes on him. "Who?" he demanded.

"A vampire," he replied patiently. "You've read about them, haven't you? Up until now you didn't believe they existed but you should start thinking differently. They walk among us, a plague on this earth."

Abraham listened intently then asked carefully. "Who are you?"

A shadow of a smile ghosted his lips. "My name is Arminius."

-

Since that day, six years had passed. Arminius, an enigma among humans, had become Abraham's mentor. He taught him all the secrets of a vampire's power and every possible way to destroy one. When questioned how he came by this knowledge, a soft smile would cross his face and he would simply say, "Experience."

Arminius, despite them being around the same age area, had become a father figure to Abraham. Under his tutelage, Abraham honed his skills in vampire hunting and made it his life's mission to eliminate every vampire on Earth. And he did his best to accomplish this mission.

Over the years, he formed an elite team of vampire slayers, all of which whose lives had been personally affected by a vampire. They were more ready to believe him them someone pulled off the streets. The team was comprised of Arthur Holmwood, Quincey Morris, and John Seward. Together the four men killed any vampire that crossed their path.

PRESENT DAY

Abraham Van Helsing leaned against a hallway wall, listening slightly amused at the actions going on inside the room next to him. His protégé John Seward was working with a number of nurses to hush a hysterical mental patient. "He draws near!" the lunatic, a man named Renfield, cried. "The shadows are descending upon us!"

"A menace," he shouted as the orderlies tried to strap him down. "With red eyes like fire and teeth as sharp as knives!"

This description peaked Van Helsing's interest significantly. He turned the corner and looked into the room. Renfield struggled against the bindings, his eyes nearly popping out of his skull. "You!" he yelled at Abraham. "Watch your back and guard your neck!"

Van Helsing watched with a raised eyebrow as Mr. Renfield was securely strapped to his bed and John approached him, sweaty and flustered.

"You lead a charmed life," Van Helsing said with a smile.

They retired to the study of the Seward Asylum and when the others joined them, they relayed Renfield's message.

Quincey Morris had shrugged it off, nonchalantly. "We can't really be willing to heed the word of a lunatic. The man eats bugs, for Christ's sake!"

Arthur was silent with his trademark thoughtfulness. "It's been said children and the insane are more susceptible to the paranormal."

Quincey gave him a withering look. "So you're thinking of trusting the word of a madman?"

Arthur shrugged. "I'm just saying we shouldn't immediately write him off."

Quincey opened his mouth to protest but below they heard the door slam. Rapid footsteps were heard and the door to the study burst open. In the doorway stood Arthur's fiancée, Lucy Westenra.

The exuberant young girl smiled brightly addressing the room. "Hello everyone!"

Van Helsing immediately checked for John and Quincey's reaction. As expected, they gave a modest hello and averted their eyes. Once upon a time all three men (besides Van Helsing) had asked for her hand in marriage. On the same day, no less. But she had chosen Arthur over all of them.

She tossed her dark hair and smiled brilliantly, wrapping her arms around Arthur's waist. "Are you all having a private meeting?" she asked with a giggle.

Lucy was distinctly unaware of what the men did during the cover of night. Arthur smiled softly at her. "We were until you interrupted."

Lucy smiled at him. "I just came to see what you all were up to. My dearest friend Wilhemina Murray and her fiancé are coming in a week's time for a visit. Oh and Abraham," she turned her gaze on me, removing herself from Arthur's arms. "This was sitting on the doorstep for you," she said and brandished a letter.

"Why thank you, Lucy," he said graciously and took the letter from her.

She smiled and took Arthur's hand. "Come Arthur. I so need to get ready for her arrival!" And she pulled him from the room.

Quincey and John exchanged a look. "I need to make some quick rounds," John said. "Care to come?" Quincey shrugged. "Nothing better to do." And they too exited the room.

When the room was empty, Van Helsing opened the letter, pulled from within the stationery. He unfolded it slowly and gazed on the words of the page: The cemetery. Tonight. Midnight. That was all. Abraham raised an eyebrow and turned the paper over looking for something else but there was none. Just the words on front. Someone obviously wanted his attention. He decided to see who it was.

-

At ten after midnight, Van Helsing journeyed from the Seward Asylum where he had taken refuge for the night and wandered to the nearby cemetery. But before he left, he performed a short spell that would make him invisible to all. And so he traveled, phantom-like, through the streets.

When he came upon the cemetery, it was deserted as usual. Abraham slowed his walk and carefully pushed the swinging gate open. It gave an ominous creak and granted him entrance to the foggy home of the dead.

He paused for a moment then journeyed further in, not sure who he was looking for. He leaned against a tree, shivering at the coldness of the area. After ten minutes, he began to get impatient then turned to leave.

"You're late," a growl sounded behind him.

Van Helsing turned, searching for the source of the voice.

"If you think that cloaking spell is hiding you, it isn't."

He considered then dropped the spell, materializing in the graveyard. "Who's there?" he called sternly. The hand in his cloak pocket gripped a wooden stake.

Another figure materialized before him, a tall man with black hair that reached down to his knees. He glared at Abraham with red eyes like fire, just as Renfield had described.

"I finally get to look in the face of the bastard whose been killing off my people," he growled, exposing canines some five inches long.

Abraham pulled the stake from his pocket. "Vampire," he said lowly. "It's my mission to kill everyone of your kind."

He took an aggressive step forward. "You know me don't you?" he asked with a twisted grin. "They probably called for me as your men slaughtered them."

Van Helsing's eyes widened. "Dracula," he said knowingly. "The No Life King."

Dracula gave him a contemptuous look. "You think your wooden stick is going to stop me?" He scoffed. "I could rip you apart for underestimating me." Dracula took a breath, seemed to compose himself. "I don't know how many you've killed but it stops now. You're going to pay for every life you took. So gather your stakes, your crucifixes, your garlic, and your crosses. None of them will stop me. You're going to die knowing I've taken everything away from you."

And on that note, he vanished into the night.

-

By midafternoon the next day, the house had been vampire-proofed. Even if Dracula had said the typical vampire wards wouldn't work, that didn't stop them from putting them up.

Quincey was in his usual, pre-vampire hunt excitement. "This is going to go great," he said optimistically. "We take out Dracula, they'll all fall!" Quincey, who had had his entire town turned under the vampire's curse, had no sympathy for those creatures of the night.

For a week nothing happened until Lucy took ill.

She had fainted without any semblance of warning and immediately rushed to one of the upstairs rooms where she lay motionless for a full day. On the second day, she opened her eyes, and was deathly pale. "Arthur," she called softly. She coughed weakly. "Ugh, I feel terrible."

Arthur took her hand tenderly. "You'll feel better soon, dear."

She smiled softly. "I'm sure I just have the flu or something," she said. "Yes, I'll be fine in a few days."

But she was not. Her condition continued to worsen over time and the Lucy that all the men had come to know and love became someone they no longer recognized. Her mother came to visit and keep her company when Arthur could not.

Unbeknownst to them, their target vampire, the cause of Miss Lucy's sickness, was nearby.

Dracula shook his head and sighed softly. He disliked resorting to this trickery and these underhanded tactics but Van Helsing had to be taught a lesson. And the lesson was: no one was free from his grasp. If their Miss Lucy had to be made into the example, then so be it. She would make a fine vampire in time.

He watched from a distance as Lucy began to wither and die, her mother and her newly arrived friend, Wilhemina, constantly at her bedside. He waited for the night when only Lucy and Van Helsing were in the room to strike. He had no planned course of action, decided to wing it.

He watched as Lucy tottered on the brink of sleep and busted in through the window.

Van Helsing looked up abruptly at the same time the window shattered and an impossible force slammed into his body. It sent him flying to the back wall where he hit and crumpled to the floor. He watched with wide eyes as mist as black as hell floated in through the window.

Lucy scrambled to her knees and pulled away from the broken window to the farthest edge of the bed.

The mist completed its entry and formed a tall column just inside the window; a blink and the mist had transformed itself into Dracula.

Van Helsing was unable to move as the King of Vampires set his eyes on him and then slowly turned them on Lucy with a lecherous grin. The Lady Westenra gave a frightened squeak and brandished the crucifix she had been instructed to wear. Van Helsing struggled to move his body but was unable to. In his mind he cried out to his long gone mentor. _Arminius. Help me..._ he thought despairingly. _Help Lucy._

But his prayer went unanswered as Dracula reached out slowly, grasping Lucy's crucifix between his white gloved fingers. "Such a harmless trinket," he said softly. "Did you think this might save you?" And he yanked the crucifix, snapping the golden cord from Lucy's neck.

"Dracula," Van Helsing shouted, trying desperately to move his body, to no avail. "Don't touch her!"

But the No Life King said nothing to Van Helsing. Instead, he touched Lucy's delicate chin and looked into her eyes. "Such a lovely face you have," he said with a smile. "An even lovelier neck."

Lucy stared at him with fear etched into every part of her face. "Please," she said softly. "Don't kill me."

Had it not been for her association with Van Helsing, Dracula would have almost surely let her go. But she was friends with a man who had killed many of his family. That was enough to seal her death.

He said nothing to her and watched as a faint whisper of hope crawled into Lucy's face. He wrapped his hand around her neck, extinguishing it, and looked at Van Helsing.

"This woman's death," he said slowly and deliberately. "Is all your fault."

And he ripped into Lucy's throat with the rage of a madman.

Van Helsing screamed, bringing the others to the room but by the time they got there, Dracula was gone and Lucy was dead.

-

Lucy's funeral was September 26th. Miss Mina and Lucy's mother stayed the longest, crying with reckless abandon. But the four men were grave and solemn. They knew the worst was yet to come: the time when they would have to reenter the grave and kill Lucy once more when she rose as a vampire.

The plan proceeded like clockwork. A night after the initial funeral they went to the graveyard where Van Helsing led them to the small, square stone building at whose entry Lucy's name was carved.

The group was silent, reluctant to move forward but with encouragement from Van Helsing, they unlocked the door and entered the mausoleum. Van Helsing crossed the room and stood at the head of the tomb. He nodded firmly to all the men, locking eyes with Arthur who was very well composed considering the situation. Without much pretense, Van Helsing reached down and lifted the lid of the huge stone coffin. When the dust began to settle, the men drew nearer, clutching their weapons.

Lucy was gone.

There was a sharp intake of breath from Arthur. The other men all looked over at him, to him facing the other direction. Following his gaze, they saw Lucy, unnaturally beautiful, bathed in moonlight.

Through the silence, all could see Lucy's cold seductive eyes traveling over all the men, sizing them up. Her smile was no longer sweet and kind but cruel and greedy. Fresh, crimson blood dripped from her mouth, the inch long fangs within her mouth. Her gaze finally stopped at Arthur, recognizing him.

"Arthur!" she called with true delight. "Come to me, sweet husband!"

He took a step forward, and another only to be grabbed round the neck by Van Helsing.

"Not for your life!" he shouted and flung him back, drawing his stake. Then a burst of wind struck him, throwing him to the ground along with the other men. Van Helsing struggled to his feet and was met with the most horrid of sights.

Dracula stood behind Lucy and the she-vampire was gazing at her master with violent adoration. She turned to him fully, giving him a polite curtsy. "My Master," she purred much like a cat.

He graced her with a sincere smile then turned his eyes on Van Helsing, his eyes hardening immediately.

"You are growing to be quite a nuisance, old man," he said calmly. "Your determination is annoying, at best. You seem not to understand you, the men behind you, you're all already dead. You've seen how easy it was for me to turn this lovely young lady." He touched Lucy's chin affectionately and at the compliment, she grinned madly.

"Perhaps," Dracula said, looking again at the vampire hunters with a sneaky smile. "She would enjoy some companionship. Her dear friend would do nicely." And on that, he disappeared.

The realization struck like thunder.

"Mina," John gasped and ran forward, ready to head back to the asylum and protect the Count's next target.

But Lucy blocked his path and with a swift motion, she had lashed out and smacked him back some ten feet.

Van Helsing, Arthur, and Quincey all stepped forward ready to put an end to Lucy's cruel reanimation.

-

At the asylum, Mina sat in the room of Mr. Renfield as she often did, accompanying the man when he was much more lucid.

"I don't know why I'm still here," Renfield said with a dismissive air. "I'm of perfect mental health. I shall have to write a letter complaining of this injustice."

Mina smiled politely. "I'm sure you are Mr. Renfield. I do hope your dilemma will be cleared up soon."

Renfield smiled pleasantly at her, opened his mouth to speak but before he could the door slowly creaked open.

Mina looked up, frozen at the sight of the man in the doorway. He had the look of someone who had finally gotten what they were looking for. And Mina didn't like it.

She rose to her feet. "You have to leave right now, sir. You're not permitted to be here."

Dracula's grin served to widen. "Is that so?" He stepped into the room.

Unbelievably so, Renfield rose to his feet putting himself between Mina and the vampire. "The lady doesn't want you here," he said roughly, unaware of the danger he was truly in.

A flicker of annoyance flashed across the Count's face. But he spoke soundly. "That's too bad," he said and took another step into the room, setting Renfield off.

The man flew at him with fists swinging. One blow glanced across Dracula's face. That was enough of that. The vampire reached out grasping Renfield's raised arm. With no effort, he flung him aside to the east wall where his head struck the cement and he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

Dracula's gaze returned to Mina who had backed up to the wall.

"You're the one who killed Lucy," she said angrily.

"Your friend is quite alive," he said calmly. "You'll be joining her soon." And he'd crossed the room in the blink of an eye, his right hand wrapped around her throat.

Mina's nails dug into his hand but other than that she did nothing to resist him. She glared at him. "What are you waiting for?"

This surprised the Count though he hid the emotion behind a look of pleasure.

"Do you want to die so quickly, Miss Mina?"

Mina shook her head. "I don't know who you are or what you've got against Mr. Van Helsing and his friends. I care not either. You obviously came here with something in mind so get it over with." She stopped, watching him carefully then shouted: "Do it."

His grin grew wide, demonic. He knew she was bluffing, could read her every mood. Scare tactics had to be used then.

"What if I don't kill you?" he asked lowering his head to her neck. "Perhaps, I'll just rip off a limb or two. Or I could impugne the honor you English hold so highly." He stuck out his tongue, almost eight inches long, and trailed her soft cheek. Mina shivered with revulsion then stiffened in distinct fear as his free hand rested on her stomach, threatened to go lower.

"I like this," he said with a shiver to his voice that showed her he truly did. "Your fear is something truly delectable."

She looked at him. "Then you're even more insane than half the patients in here."

"Madam, sanity does not exist amongst my kind," he said softly. "I've a better idea now. I won't kill you but let you serve as Helsing's tracker."

She blinked. "Tracker? What does that mean?"

But he didn't answer. Instead, he rose his left hand to his mouth, tore open the skin on his wrist. "Open your mouth," he commanded.

-

The men were currently having their hands full with Lucy. She didn't have a fraction of Dracula's strength but she still managed to overpower them. But the good news was she was susceptible to the usual vampire paraphernalia. She shrieked in pain as Van Helsing flung holy water on her and doubled back, it having blinded her.

"Now," Van Helsing shouted.

Arthur ran forward, his wooden stake brandished, and buried it into Lucy's chest.

He squeezed his eyes shut as she screamed. "My Lucy," he whispered tearfully and she vanished in a puff of dust. Arthur sank to his knees. But his mourning was cut short.

"We have to get to Mina," Van Helsing instructed sternly and began to leave the cemetery already. Quincey and John helped Arthur to his feet and they followed.

When the men returned to the asylum, they met with another disturbing sight. Mina was weeping silently at the spot Dracula had left her at, blood covered her face.

"Mina," Quincey strode across the room. "What has happened?"

Mina continued to cry, her eyes glazed over. "He gave me his blood. His vile, dark blood. I can see everything. Ever horrid, sick thing the Count has ever done. Every person he's killed, all the places he's been."

John looked at Van Helsing. "Why would Dracula give Mina his blood?"

"I am the tracker," she said, a little louder than necessary. "I know the way to the vampire castle. He wants me to guide you all there. He says it will be the battle to end all."

Van Helsing nodded as he listened then looked at the others. "You all ready for a vampire hunt?"

-

Dracula rested below deck on an ocean liner heading for Transylvania. He was finally going home.

**That turned out okay, right? Hope so. The next chapter of Darkness Daughter will be the last and it will have to wait a bit. I wrote a draft but it seems extremely lackluster, so I'm waiting a few days for inspiration to strike. Don't hate me! Lol, thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


	18. Ready for War

**Aw, here we go: chapter 18! Thankies to those who reviewed:**

**Lord Makura  
BadLuckCat  
Kantra  
shidori  
Zizzi Hungarian  
BlackWingsBlackSoul**

**Sorry for the delay. My internet went down for like a little more than a week. But I'm back in business, baby. Don't leave me fans. This is getting _good._**

**UPDATE: Jeez, is this gonna happen now? Is no one gonna read because Darkness Daughter finished. Man, what a drag…**

**Order 18: Ready for War**

Dracula traveled on foot for almost a week. He was taking his time, wondering what the next move would be. Mina had consumed a large amount of his blood. She'd been able to see things through his mind's eyes when he allowed it and the vampiric blood in her system would slowly begin to change her as it had Lucy. This would make Van Helsing and his troupe work a little harder at finding him. They would come and fight on his territory.

Lucy...

It was a pity she had been killed so quickly. Dracula had wanted to keep her close and have her fight against Van Helsing at his side. A neophyte vampire, even one he had directly turned, is subject to quick destruction. No sense crying over spilled blood.

He could see, through Mina's eyes that Van Helsing was readying to leave.

_Fine_, Dracula thought. _Let him come._

He himself was fast approaching the vampire castle. It wasn't far now. A day's rest and Dracula crested the hill to the grand fortress.

The air was decidedly different.

Normally, in decades past, the front grounds would be teeming with the vampires. Now the place looked deserted, save for one vampiress training with her shadows. It was Lisha.

She turned sharply as his aura pierced her but relaxed at the sight of him.

"It's you," she said breathlessly.

He continued walking towards her. "Your powers of observation are truly astounding," he said with a chuckle.

She broke into a wide smile. "You never change, my lord."

_Ain't that the truth_, he thought. He said out loud: "Do you know why I've returned?"

Her eyes narrowed and her face went grave. "You're here because of Helsing and his goons."

He was somewhat surprised. "You know of him then."

"He's a plague," she hissed angrily. "They...they killed Olena," she said painfully.

Dracula expressed regret at Lisha's lost surrogate sister.

"The vampires have been coming back now for weeks," Lisha said smartly. "Strength in numbers and all. Many have fallen before Van Helsing and his men."

Dracula nodded, listening. Then he began walking towards the castle. "Statistics report, number one," he said pointedly.

She wasted no time. "Van Helsing's attention was first drawn to us because of an outbreak of rouge vampires. Fiendish things without any kind of vampiric dignity or respect. They massacred towns and murdered hundreds for no damn good reason. Helsing took it upon himself to eradicate them from the world but somewhere along the way, we got mixed in with the renegades. Of the original pure-blooded vampires, I think about twenty have been killed."

"Who?" he asked directly.

She counted off names. They were people Dracula knew, his _family,_ damn it.

"Van Helsing will take no more lives," he said matter-of-factly. "He is coming here and when he does, he will meet his death."

Lisha gave a soft sigh of relief. Then switching subjects, she said, "A woman named Vivien came here about two weeks ago telling us that."

"She made it all right, then?" he asked. "Good."

"She should be inside."

Dracula nodded his approval and entered the castle. He could easily pick out Vivien's scent as though there were a visible marker to where she was. She resided in the dance hall with Elena.

He paused at the overhead railing, looked down at the two of them.

Elena was dancing with her typical grace and Vivien was copying her movements. He noticed Elena had changed; her hair was short, her skin somewhat more tanned. Vivien was just as he remembered. But, he thought amusedly, she should probably stick to poetry because she was currently butchering Elena's beautiful movements.

"If Elena can teach you a decent dance step," he called out, drawing their attention. "She should be canonized."

"Lord Dracula," Vivien cried and vanished reappearing beside him. "I was wondering when you'd come back."

He raised an eyebrow. "You've learned to phase quite well."

Vivien smiled brightly. "Lady Elena is a wonderful teacher," she said fondly.

Below, Elena blushed faintly from the compliment. He looked at her strangely. She had lost some of usual exuberance. Normally, at the sight of him she would have tackle-hugged him to the ground. Surely so after the long absence.

He phased down beside him. "Lady Elena," he said politely and bowed. "What has happened?"

She folded her hands, silently and lowered her head. "My Stefan..." she whispered. "He was..."

Dracula sighed sadly for her.

Vivien reappeared beside him. "Stefan fell protecting her," she offered. "I've been helping her through it. We all have."

"Excuse me," Dracula said curtly. "I need to have a look around." He turned and began exploring the castle. Vivien looked like she wanted to say something but kept quiet.

A majority of the Old Vampires were there and welcomed him with warm words. They had with them their fledgling, vampires they had created on the road. Dracula scanned each of their minds quickly. They were strong-willed; that was good. He'd need all the capable hands for when Van Helsing arrived.

He was heading for the lowest level, wanting to see his coffin.

When he got to his old room, he looked on with affection at his sleek, black coffin. It was like a second home to him. Approaching it, he noticed an engraving on the lid.

The bird of Hermes is my name. Eating my wings to make me tame.

He narrowed his eyes. Who had written that? And what did it mean? Scrutinizing, he felt the aura of someone inside.

What a violation! Who would dare jump in his coffin? He reached for the lid, just as it was flung open.

A mass of curly brown, a pair of arms tightening around his neck.

"I was suffocating in there!" Mataji shouted.

"And now you're choking me," Dracula wheezed lowly.

"Oops," she released him then smothered him with a massive kiss.

"I take it you missed me," he said after she loosened her hold and he regained his composure.

She smiled brightly. "Sure, I missed you."

"You're in unusually high spirits," he said. "Considering the situation."

"I know. But I can't help it! Even though we're coming together for a bad reason, I'm happy to see everyone again."

"Yeah, the ones that made it back," he said darkly.

Mataji sucked her teeth. "Oh, you needn't be so morbid. A few of us are dead. Granted. But the final battle will be _awesome_."

"You're shivering in anticipation," he noticed.

"Yeah," she began sneakily. "But that might not be in anticipation of the fight."

"Mataji," he said softly. He had missed her as well. Missed her a lot. To have her back so suddenly was a little overwhelming, a bit hard to digest. And she was already trying to jump him.

"Aw," she whined softly. "Have you found someone to love you better than me? That red-headed poetess, perhaps?" she said with a grin.

"Vivien doesn't," he began then remembered...

_If I didn't love you before, I certainly do now. _

"Exactly," Mataji said knowingly. "At least I didn't bring any of my boy toys home with me."

Dracula rolled his eyes. "Don't you think you're a little to old to use a term like 'boy toys'?"

"So I'm a hag now?" she shot back. "Fine. Go have your tryst with the poetess. I'll have nothing to do with you then."

He sighed, not bothering to muffle the sound, and grabbed her, pulling her into a kiss.

Mataji responded immediately, kissing him back roughly, already beginning to excite the right places. Even the strongest vampire can be overcome by lust. The lust of battle, blood, and sex. Dracula pulled away and smiled at her. "Now who can love me better than you?" he said making Mataji smile.

"I've missed you," he said tenderly. "But we have to put this reunion on hold. There's a lot of things we have to take of first."

Mataji nodded. "I understand. So," she said smartly, rising from his coffin. "What do we have to do?"

-

Hellsing soldiers were on their way, though Helsing took great measures to keep his plans from Mina and subsequently Dracula. They were moving fast and the vampires were returning home.

Vladimir showed up, a week after Dracula, sporting a small group of followers behind him. He'd smiled at Dracula. "Good to see you, my lord. Are we ready for war?"

Hours were spent training and perfecting skills. The lust for battle was in the air.

Dracula awoke during the middle of the day, a sudden vision bringing him from sleep. He disengaged Mataji, who was sleeping beside him and focused. The Hellsing soldiers were making their way across Transylvanian ground. Dracula grinned widely. They were coming; this was it.

He roused several others from their sleep and these vampires exited the castle and positioned themselves around the grounds, to serve as security.

Armed forces were gathering within the castle walls, waiting in anticipation. Dracula stood among the highest tower's balcony, watching the grounds. His eyes could see, about eight meters away, the soldiers, guns in hand, storm towards the fortress. Van Helsing was not among them.

Dracula leaned, leisurely, against the stone spires, tense with anticipation.

They marched forward, allowed access through the line of vampire guards, and up to the castle, guns in hand and leveled.

Dracula grinned widely.

The soldier in front, a broad man with a cigarette and eye patch, blew smoke out of the side of his mouth. Dracula watched him interestedly.

This man looked right back at him and, without a word, he fired off several shots aimed at Dracula.

The No Life King easily withstood the barrage of bullets. They passed through his chest and he did not stagger.

The man who had fired grinned wide.

Dracula raised his hands, in a display of mock surrender. Then he snapped his fingers.

The sound resonated throughout the battle field. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then...

Vampires burst through the castle wall, bypassing the hindrance of stone, and leapt upon the Hellsing soldiers, with unrestrained fury.

It was immediate pandemonium.

A maddening whirl of claws and fangs, bullets and blood. The Hellsing soldiers tried to fall back and regroup but the vampires who had served as security caught off any escape route.

Dracula did not join in. Instead, he watched from his high place at the death and carnage they were bringing. It was truly beautiful. He had seen wars before but not like this. Wars cannot have the deadly shadows of Control Arts, swallowing up handfuls of soldiers at a time and ripping them to pieces.

He watched Lisha speeding among the fighting, low to the ground like the panther she was. She dodged bullets with ease, her fists clenched tight to force itself through the chest of a man. She pulled his heart out, dropped it to the ground, and continued to the next.

He inspected Vladimir, his form flawless, as he moved, setting fire to the soldiers that dared approach. He was a spinning fireball, bright orange flames blinding and burning any who were dumb enough to stumble into their paths.

He observed Elena, lovely as ever, caught up in the rage of the fight. She was whirling and bending, _dancing_ among the gunfire. A bullet whizzed by her head and she ducked, launched herself at its firer, her nails raking his eyes.

And he focused most closely on Mataji. She was shouting and laughing with the pure, hateful, bloodthirsty joy of the slaughter. She jumped at a soldier, latching onto his body, wrapping her legs around his midsection. She smiled devilishly before digging into his neck, ripping through flesh and bone and blood. She was covered with it, as she ripped off the heads of men, bathing in their blood.

The fight continued for almost an hour before the last soldier fell. It was the man who had fired the first shots. He was bleeding heavily, near death. Dracula finally left his place at the tower. He landed before the man, bleeding from both arms and the stomach.

Dracula smiled. He had fought with much valor. "What's your name?" he asked.

The man, breathing heavily, looked up at him and managed a shaky grin. "Dave," he said lowly. "Dave Bernadotte."

The other vampires moved restlessly, behind him. Dracula stayed them with a raise of his hand. "Leave him be," he said softly. "He can die on his own."

Dave Bernadotte closed his eyes and smiled. In a few minutes, his heart had stopped beating.

Silence fell.

Already the vampires were beginning to move away, to change clothes, to examine their wounds.

"That was some hellish fun," Mataji shouted, wiping the blood from her face. "We simply _must_ do it again some time."

Dracula chuckled a little at her behavior.

"Yeesh," Vladimir said lowly. "What are we gonna do with all these bodies?"

Some of the soldiers were already beginning to rise and become ghouls. Dracula considered as a grin crossed his face. "I have an idea."

-

When Van Helsing showed up, a week later, he was met with the sight of his men, some dead, some undead, moaning and groaning from their places, impaled through stakes. All one hundred of them...

**I'm sorry I didn't describe Vivien fighting in the battle, she'll have a part in the next chapter. **

**Dave was totally ad-libbed. I put him in as I was typing. Hee hee. **

**Like? Hate? Drop a line, fools. **


	19. The Final Battle

**Here we go! Firstly, my usual acknowledgments to my usual reviewers:**

**Kantra  
BadLuckCat  
Lord Makura  
Gale Frost  
shidori  
BlackWingsBlackSoul  
Zizzi Hungarian**

**Order 19: The Final ** **Battle**

It was Mina who informed Van Helsing that the first batch of soldiers that had been dispatched had been unsuccessful. Count Dracula had allowed her the brief image of all of them impaled in front of the castle, like some grotesque monument of the battle they had fought.

Now the order had come from a much higher place and there were several hundred soldiers backing Van Helsing and the others. They weren't very far when they stopped and waited. This night would be waited out and the attack would be in the daylight where the vampires would be much less powerful. The entirety of the new soldiers, including Van Helsing and the others, were holed up in a huge inn to the west of the vampires' castle.

"We have a few more hours left," Van Helsing announced to the others. Arthur sat silently in a corner of the room, staring into nothing, probably thinking about Lucy. John looked out the window. Quincey was pacing the room, energetically. "We got 'em," he muttered lowly. "We got those bat bastards."

"Language," Arthur suggested quietly.

"Oh, my apologies, Miss Mina," Quincey said with a quick apologetic nod to her.

Mina sat by Van Helsing. She smiled at Quincey. "No troubles." In the time of their traveling, Mina had already grown deathly pale, her kind brown eyes slowly transforming to the red of the undead. At this point, her eyeteeth were small points, hardly considered fangs and she could still tolerate the sun. "Abraham," she said softly looking to Van Helsing. "There is trouble in the air."

"Undoubtedly," he responded. "Just so we're clear, Mina, you are to stay here tomorrow. I'll leave behind a small number of soldiers to protect you but I do not want you anywhere near the castle. Mr. Harker would surely be embittered towards us forever more if anything unseemly happened to you."

It had taken quite a lot of coaxing to get Harker to let Mina travel with them and he did so begrudgingly.

"This ends here," Van Helsing said darkly.

Far off at the castle, Mataji was spinning.

"What a glorious battle it will be," she sang energetically. She glanced back at Dracula who was sitting next to his coffin, idly sipping a wineglass of blood. "Am I the only one excited?" she asked.

"Far from it," he said dryly.

"Is my lord worried?" she asked teasingly walking towards him. She swung her legs over his and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now what mere human could bring down the all-powerful No Life King?"

Dracula smiled at her attempts to cheer him. "Mataji, I never get worried. It takes the fun out of things."

"I'm not sure I believe you," she said with a smile.

"Then I'll bring you Van Helsing's head as a gift," he said, chuckling.

"Oh, don't _you_ know the way to a woman's heart." She sighed softly and burying her head in his neck. "Are you ready for war?" she spoke quietly.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, kept her close. "Been ready."

-

It was partially cloudy. Dracula was thankful for that.

The No Life King stood in front of the castle, tensed and ready. The other vampires flanked him, itching for blood. They stood patiently, watching as the Hellsing soldiers stomped their way across the ground, onto vampire territory. The other deceased Hellsing men were still mounted as a tribute to the grand battle that had been fought and to disadvantage the newer ones who would have a harder time maneuvering through them.

Van Helsing, John Seward, Quincey Morris, and Arthur Holmwood headed the army of mortals. As they approached, Vivien, standing near the front, placed a hand on Dracula's arm. "Hell's Speed," she said softly and nothing more.

Van Helsing's eyes narrowed at the sight of them, ready and waiting. So much for the element of surprise. But they _were_ outnumbered, about one vampire for every three humans. Thank goodness for that.

He stopped about thirty feet away.

Monster and mortal stared into each other's eyes, silent, challenging.

Then Dracula spoke:

"Ladies and gentlemen," he addressed the vampires but spoke loud enough for the humans to hear. "I give to you...VAN HELSING!"

That was the signal for attack. The vampires flew forward.

"GO!" Van Helsing shouted. "DESTROY THEM!"

The mortals moved to meet them and together the two groups clashed in a wild fight of immense proportions.

Soon, time was lost among the fighters. The soldiers came with their guns loaded with bullets melted down from silver crosses and doused in holy water. They were difficult to heal around and often didn't produce exit wounds. The vampires relied on their natural skill, their speed, to evade these bullets to the best of their ability and produce killing strikes.

The battle raged for hours. Within that time, both parties had been thoroughly doused in blood, making them almost indistinguishable to each other. It was an endless struggle among bloody creatures.

Dracula had recycled an ancient sword he had possessed as a mortal. It was a short, silver blade with a long golden handle and the old Dracul family crest on the hilt. He drove this into any who crossed his path with unrestrained fury.

His primary target was Van Helsing. He leapt over the hordes of people to get to him specifically. Van Helsing was ready. Flanked by Arthur, John, and Quincey, he rushed forward to do battle with the monster. His weapon was not the conventional guns the soldiers carried but one specifically designed to propel high-speed projectiles, stakes if you will. Arthur and John were armed with crossbows and Quincey wielded a pair of spinning blades, guaranteed to cut through anything.

Dracula landed mere feet from Van Helsing, swinging his sword in a high arc. Van Helsing barely ducked, sure an inch of his hair had been cut from him, when he leveled the gun and fired five quick shots into the Count's belly. Dracula stepped back, a hand going to his stomach, a look of pain on his face.

Then he grinned and advanced, brandishing his weapon.

He dodged the arrows shot by John and Arthur with little effort and battled toe to toe with Van Helsing and Quincey. It was enough to incite the familiar feeling of giddiness battles usually brought. He ducked to the side of Van Helsing's stakes and grinned at the vampire slayer.

"You can't kill me," he said darkly. "I'm already dead."

"Let's make it permanent this time," Van Helsing retorted and lashed out with a solid fist.

They became immersed in the other's fighting, unrecognizable from the many other combatants. But as the fight progressed, Dracula began to tire. He realized this in a moment of panic. _Brief _panic. He looked over his shoulder, ignoring Van Helsing for the moment.

The other vampires were falling!

From wounds or exhaustion, a small number of vampires were going down, dying, then impaled with stakes and turned to ash in seconds.

Dracula growled under his breath and turned his back completely on Van Helsing and raced to help his comrades. He ripped the heads off any soldier he found standing over a pile of dust.

A scream and a flash of red caught his attention.

He turned just in time to see Vivien catch a stake to the heart. His eyes were wide as he saw her, his Venus, falling to hit the ground. She saw him, through the midst of bloody battling, saw his shock.

He broke through the crowds, struggling to reach her, to grasp her outstretched hand before she completely vanished. But he was too slow, the No-Life King himself wasn't quick enough to get to her before she was gone. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

He fell to one knee, his hand grasping at his chest. Such a pain through a heart that no longer beat was reverberating around inside his chest. Of course! Their deaths were hurting him because it had been their births that had given him strength. Another sudden pain, in the shoulder this time. He turned to see Van Helsing and Arthur holding their weapons. His shadows reached out and removed the four stakes that had embedded in his shoulderblades. He rose to his feet and promised to shed a tear for Vivien later.

Fresh screaming started anew. The entire battlefield had been engulfed in flames. He saw Vladimir jet from the massive fire, tears in the corner of his eyes. He felt Felicity's absence. She had fallen...

But he had to refocus on Van Helsing. He noticed he was bleeding from a lot of wounds but he cared not. Van Helsing's death was all that mattered now, to make up for all the deaths he had caused.

The shadows spread out among the ground. Van Helsing was smart enough to jump away from the pooling darkness but John was not so lucky. The doctor Seward got caught in this darkness and sunk in almost up to his knees. Dracula advanced on him, stepping on the shadows like Jesus on water, his sword poised and ready.

"John!" Van Helsing took a running leap and landed right in front of John, between him and Dracula's blade. The Count drew back the sword and lashed out. Van Helsing reached out and deflected the blade with the flat of his palm but the point of the sword still entered his body on the right tricep. He didn't let the pain distract him; instead, brought up the gun and fired into Dracula's stomach and chest.

Dracula jumped backwards but the stakes still managed to find their way through his chest. The pain was starting to take hold; his vision was starting to swim. He was starting to fall back.

"QUINCE!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to the shout. It came from Arthur. His eyes were directed to the now dead Quincey. Mataji stood over his body, her hands curled, blood on her mouth.

A battalion of soldiers advanced on her.

"MATAJI!" Now Dracula's turn to scream.

She faced the soldiers, determined. Did not back down.

Dracula jumped at the same time they fired.

He caught some of the fire as Mataji fell. He caught her before she hit the ground.

Already, her eyes were deadening. Still, she managed to smile at him. "Was a glorious battle," she said softly. "Have no regrets, my love." Then she reached up and grabbed the front of his black cape. She pulled him down to her and kissed him ferociously, spilling her blood into his mouth. A minute more and she was gone.

Dracula stayed in the spot Mataji had died. He didn't move.

When the soldiers fired on him, when the stakes ripped through him, he did not react.

Slowly, ever so, he rose up and within the blink of an eye, he ripped the soldiers limb from limb.

His eyes were blind and blood red. Now everything would go down. He couldn't see, could only tear and stab, and kill. Kill and kill and kill until Mataji came back. And since she wouldn't come back, he would never stop killing. He lost himself in the blood and death and carnage until pain enveloped him in its sweet black caress.

- (Dracula's POV) -

Death.

I've known it, I've met it, I've caused it.

But no death can compare to the death that swept that battlefield that day.

The Grim Reaper must have been happy to cart our souls to Hell. Probably filled his quota for a month.

I didn't keep my promise. I didn't bring her Van Helsing's head. Instead, he gets to take mine.

After she went, the battle went pretty downhill from there. I'm truly astounded. I don't know how it happened. I remember Van Helsing ripped a metal stake from the ground, previously used to mount one of his soldiers and drove it straight through my chest. I blacked out after that. For how long, I can't remember. But when I came to, I was among the fallen, staring up at my conqueror, that damnable Van Helsing. I couldn't move but I felt the pain. All over my body.

I looked at him, a shadow, my Angel of Death.

"Have I been...defeated?" I heard myself speak the words.

Van Helsing stared at me with coldness in his eyes. Good. It was better than his pity. I didn't need that. I'd see my Mataji soon anyway. This was my final farewell.

"That's right, you've been defeated. This is no nightmare from which you'll soon awaken. Your loyal minions, your family, all of them dead."

I felt a bloody tear fall from my eye. This was a last moment to mourn. A vague thought crossed my mind: Mina.

"You're finished. Mina. She will never be yours."

That was fine. I didn't care. That was fine.

"Count, you have nothing left." I watched Van Helsing draw his fist up and he struck the stake already in me. It hurt like hell and I spewed blood. I felt his fist grasp my collar and pull me up from my place on the ground.

"You pathetic No-Life King," he spat the words with contempt. "You have nothing."

My vision began to blur again. Inwardly, I applauded his attempt at tormenting me. Outwardly, I just wanted it to be over with. And I felt that, as Van Helsing shifted, that he was going to end my life.

"ABRAHAM!"

I was dropped back to the ground, my pitiful life extended a few more seconds.

"Mina?" Van Helsing turned away from me to the approaching girl, making her way up the hill through the sea of corpses. "What are you _doing_ here?"

She stopped aways from him, breathing heavily. "His mark has faded," she said, showing him her neck. "And my eyes are normal once more."

Van Helsing's accomplices, I knew not their names, moved forward. "Mina, you shouldn't have come here. You need to leave at once."

"No," she protested. And then her eyes went to me. There was sadness in them. And she spoke to Van Helsing: "I don't want you to kill him."

_"What?" _

"Mina, be rational. There lies your best friend's murderer. He _has_ to die," Van Helsing reasoned.

She looked at me again and I understood. I had given her too many of my memories. She knew it all, every pain I've suffered, the ones that I didn't even admit to myself. And now she was taking _pity_ on me. I might have killed her then if I had the strength. Couldn't I leave the world with an ounce of dignity?

I watched her walk to Van Helsing's side. She rose to her toes and spoke quietly into his ear. I couldn't hear what she said but Van Helsing soon relayed the message to his accomplices. Then he looked around. There were survivors, a handful of humans, about eight.

"Search the castle," he commanded sternly. "Look for the Count's coffin."

I still wasn't sure of what was going on but I had long since stopped caring. I closed my eyes and waited for the end.

"Mina, don't," I heard one of the men say.

I opened my eyes to see what he was instructing her not to do. She had walked away from Van Helsing, to my side. Here she knelt by and took my head in her lap. Gently, she stroked my blood matted hair.

In that instant, I could have loved her. If I had a heart, anyway.

Here she was, a young girl whose best friend I'd killed, who I'd threatened and scared, trying to comfort me, showing genuine concern.

How pointless. How absurd.

Soon the remaining soldiers emerged from the castle, carrying my coffin on their shoulders as though there were a body in there, ready to be buried. Mine, perhaps?

They walked to Van Helsing and dropped my coffin very unceremoniously to the ground. How rude.

"The bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame," Van Helsing read questionably. "Well, you're tame now," he said to me. He kicked the lid open. "John, Arthur, lift him up and drop him in. You men, burn the castle down."

Fortunately, I didn't have to see my old home burned down. John and Arthur, as they were called, did as Van Helsing said, but first pulled the stake from my chest. Then I felt their hands slide under me and lift me up to deposit me in the coffin. It was a comforting place to be but I smelled lingering traces of Mataji's scent on the inside.

What was going to happen now? No one bothered to inform me of what was going on. Van Helsing and the others moved away to identify and collect their dead. The ones that weren't too badly mangled, anyway.

Mina knelt by my coffin. She smiled weakly at me. "It's okay, Count. I know you don't know what's going on but you don't have to worry. We're going back to London. All you have to do is rest in here, okay?"

Why was she speaking to me like I was a child? I guess it was her own silly, stupid way of comforting me. I really didn't need it right now and all it did was annoy me.

"Why?" I said lowly.

She looked surprised that I spoke. "You've been through a lot," she said softly. "I saw through your memories," her voice lowered even more. "The rouge vampires were to blame for the rash of murders. And your family was targeted. You don't deserve to die." She looked over her shoulder then back to me. "Don't worry. Rest here. Everything will be sorted out soon." And with that she lowered the lid.

I sighed lowly and closed my eyes. Nothing left now but to sleep and hope for better days…

**

* * *

**

**It…is…completed! Phew, what a triumph. Can you believe we actually got here? Some notes: **

**1) I get the feeling someone's gonna point out: "Why didn't Dracula go into his uber powerful mode?" Because Van Helsing's gotta win, that's why. **

**2) I did use some quotes from the Van Helsing movie with Hugh Jackman: "Ladies and gentleman, I give to you Van Helsing." , "You can't kill me, I'm already dead." And the weapons used by Quincey, John, Arthur, and Van Helsing are also from the movie. But I got a little confused: I saw pictures of Hugh Helsing's crossbows that fire the stakes ready to fire, and I saw it closed up and not in use and I thought one was a crossbow and the other was a gun. Easy mistake. **

**3) And for those of you who were wondering, this is NOT the last chapter. There are MANY more and this story is FAR from over.**

**God, this was fun. Do me a courtesy and review would ya? Thanks **


	20. Compromise

**Okay, this chapter is kinda short as will be the next one. Actually the next one will be very short but the one after will have Alucard meet up with Integra. just a heads-up so no one is surprised by the length: Now, for my usual acknowledgments:**

**BadluckCat  
Kantra  
Lord Makura  
shidori  
kelly - (Oh. My. God. THANK YOU for the massive showering of compliments. It seriously had me bouncing off the walls for giddiness for about ten minutes. Thank you so much for making my day.)  
****Gale Frost - (I haven't seen the movie. It's easy enough to get quotes and pictures; it's called Anyway, thank you thank you for the compliment. )**

**Order 20: Compromise  
**

The trip gave Dracula a good chance to sleep. For the most part. Specifically, when he wasn't being manhandled by Hellsing's goons. He didn't bother to pop the lid and tell them to cut it out figuring it really wasn't worth it.

As he slept, he continually replayed the battle over and over in his head. No more how many times he did that, it still didn't make sense. He just couldn't see how he came out on the losing end. Guess only a man can defeat a monster.

They were heading back to London by sea. For whatever the reason. He was really left out as to what Hellsing's plans were. Nonetheless, he was going. He sensed Mina's presence near for most of the trip. She rarely left his side.

God, the trip was long. About thirty days, Dracula stayed in his coffin, silent. He'd never been still for that long. It was annoying and he was hungry but something told the Vampire Lord to remain as he was.

They hit shore on the twenty-eighth day and from there, Dracula was carried by the soldiers and they made their way to Hellsing Manor by car. Dracula didn't recognize the terrain but that wasn't unexpected. This whole getting dragged around thing was troublesome for him and he soon fell asleep again.

He slept for a little more than an hour. When he awoke, they weren't moving. In fact, he was alone save for a powerful aura right outside his coffin. The aura of Van Helsing. Dracula sighed silently. What did _he_ want?

"Rise," he called out. "I know you're awake."

He shrugged. Why not oblige him? Dracula stretched his tired muscles and pushed up the coffin lid. It creaked and he made a mental note to do something about it. He rose to a sitting position and yawned widely, not because he was tired but more so to irk Van Helsing. The old vampire slayer made no visible reaction to the Count's antics. Instead, he watched carefully as Dracula rose to his feet and began inspecting his own body.

The wounds had healed but he was still weary, from lack of hunger and the loss at Van Helsing's hand.

He finished the inspection then looked at Van Helsing. "What do you want?" he asked. His voice portrayed boredom but he was secretly wary.

Van Helsing was silent for a moment then spoke calmly. "You're in London. At my mansion. I brought you here to work for me instead of simply killing you."

Dracula scoffed with a short laugh. "Work for you? And why would I want to do something so foolish?"

Van Helsing again was silent, calm. "There are still vampires out there-"

"Other than the ones you killed?" Dracula interjected.

He could see Van Helsing was having trouble keeping his temper. But he continued. "There are still vampires out there and I have to stop them. That's why I want your help."

"Are you asking for it or demanding it?"

Van Helsing sighed, frustrated. "Both," he said. "You have no reason to deny me. I _know_ you want to destroy the rest of them just as much as I do."

Dracula yawned again to show his disinterest and Van Helsing lost his patience. He stepped forward and wrapped the his hand around the Count's bowtie and pulled him forward.

"Damn it, it is only by Mina's good graces that I've allowed you to live! Perhaps you should show some cooperation."

Dracula brushed his hand away effortlessly. "Where _is_ Mina? I would like to speak to her."

Van Helsing took a step back, paused. Then he said, "She is with her fiancee. I was going to get her now. But to my question-"

"I'll answer you," he interrupted. "After I've spoken with Mina."

Van Helsing watched him a moment then nodded. "Agreed. I'll be back shortly. Do not leave the mansion."

Dracula quirked an eyebrow. "Is that an _order_ you're giving me?"

He turned to the Count then said firmly, "Yes. It is."

Dracula shrugged, it didn't matter now. Had to focus on the present. He said matter-of-factly. "And what am I supposed to do for food?"

Van Helsing dug in his coat pocket, retrieved something and tossed it to Dracula. The Vampire Lord caught it, lifted it into the air and inspected it. It was a small package of blood. "What the hell is this?" He shook the liquid. "A cocktail? It's _cold_."

"Unfortunately, I can't have you going out and attacking random people on the streets for their blood. That is medical blood and you should have no trouble adjusting to it."

Dracula punctured the bag with a fang and took a sip, grimaced. "It's disgusting."

"You'll live. Like I said, I'll be back in no time." And with that, Van Helsing turned and shut the door behind him.

The Count watched him go then took another painful sip. "Disgusting." He set the blood aside and looked around the room. It was a small, dimly lit affair. His coffin was pushed up against the back wall. A couch was against the other wall and on it, a small bundle of clothes. Dracula unfolded them and looked. Another blood packet rolled out of the mess but he ignored it for the moment. He looked distastefully at the new clothes, obviously meant for him, and began to change into them. "Thing fits like a glove," he muttered grudgingly, a hand running over the black leather. He threw on his cloak and pushed open the door to look around the mansion.

He found himself avoiding other life forms but was drawn to the kitchen. He watched from the shadows as a young maid prepared a lunch for later. He watched her pull a steaming bowl from the microwave and leave the room. Dracula took her place in front of the microwave and inspected the machine. His glance traveled to the blood packet in his hand, gave a shrug and tossed it in. He hit 1, 0, 0, then start and began watching the little plastic pack revolve.

With about fifteen seconds left, the packet exploded.

Dracula took a startled step backwards as blood covered the see through door. He heard the maid coming back and vanished. She reentered the kitchen, placed a pile of dishes in the sink then turned, her eyes catching the sight of the blood-stained microwave. "What the hell?" She crossed the kitchen and pressed the button to open the door. The door popped open and blood dripped onto the counter top. "Bloody hell," she whispered, taking a step back.

Dracula reappeared behind her, gazing the young girl to spin around in fright. Swiftly, he caught her gaze, his red orbs quickly captivating and hypnotizing her.

"Don't move," he commanded.

She did as told and without hesitation, Dracula cut a small artery on her neck and sucked away three pints of her blood. When he was done, he passed a finger over her wound and the puncture marks vanished as did he in another few seconds, leaving her dazed and disorientated.

He had phased upstairs to where Van Helsing's energy was most concentrated. It was his study. Dracula looked around the large room and spotted a filing cabinet that caught his attention. He walked over to it and pulled open the top drawer. The first file was a simple cover sheet marked, 'Vampire Elimination.' Dracula raised an eyebrow skeptically and idly flipped through the files.

They were organized by continent and country. There were statistics and profile reports of every vampire Van Helsing and his men slew. His eye drew to the file marked 'Egypt.' He pulled it from the drawer and flipped it open with some dread. He turned several pages before having the fear confirmed.

The header was marked: 'Tabia': Eliminated.

There was a picture of her inside and a date of her death. He quickly calculated it to be a little before the time he had met up with Vivien. She was killed and he hadn't even know. His eyes narrowed in sadness and anger as he read her profile. It described her last fight:

A great level of speed and stamina the likes of which my team had not seen was displayed causing us and the target to engage in battle for an exhausting three hours...'

He smiled softly; she had gone down fighting like any true vampire would.

He went through many of the others, seeing names he recognized and some he didn't until coming to the last file marked 'Origins.' He opened this one curiously. There was a large amount of papers in this one, about fifty sheets. These sheets were marked with names and countries descending in a sort of family tree when laid out right. He read the names of vampires he didn't know with interest. They were described as unnecessarily violent individuals so he took them to be the renegades. Each vampire's name had one above it, their sire, and he flipped through the pages eager to know where the source was.

The renegades had originated from Romania. He checked the names starting from the bottom of the list. Florin, Elicia, Alexandru, Claudia, Daniel, Monika, Barkov, Constance.

Constance?

_Constance!?_

His eyes widened. His Con? _She_ was the source. How was that even possible?

_"Con, perhaps you can gain some satisfaction in the fact that you managed to deceive me. You have that much to be proud of." He may have seen the faintest flicker of a smile on her face but before he could register it completely, he'd lashed out, digging his nails into her neck._

That manipulative...little...cunt.

She had made another vampire without his knowledge and it had quickly grown into a massive problem.

He dropped to the floor, stunned.

If it wasn't for him Con wouldn't have...

It was _all - his - fault._

He was responsible for setting the renegades on their course. He was responsible.

Furiously, he ripped the file to shreds.

When Van Helsing returned, Dracula was not to be located. "I told that damn vampire to stay put," he muttered lowly. Mina patted his arm. "You can't expect him to do as you say right off the bat. I'll look for him," she said kindly and headed off for the stairs to the roof where she knew he resided.

She found him sitting on the roof's edge, gazing somberly at the sky.

She stood behind him, concerned.

"Think a fall from this height will kill me?" he said, sullenly.

Mina raised an eyebrow and walked up beside him, looking over the edge. "Nah," she said softly. "You'd probably just break a limb and be okay in thirty seconds."

He sighed lowly, lowering his chin to his knees.

"Any reason why you're contemplating suicide?" Mina asked.

"It was all my fault," he said brokenly. "_I_ was the cause. I sired the first rouge vampire and they quickly grew into a plague. I'm single-handedly responsible for the entire genocide of my people."

Mina lowered herself to the roof's surface and sat behind him. She was silent for a moment then spoke carefully. "I won't pretend to know what you're going through."

He gave a sarcastic scoff. "No kidding."

"I'm not going to tell you to get over it or try to convince you it wasn't your fault. From what you've said it sounds like it was-"

He looked at her, quizzically. "Are you supposed to be cheering me up?"

Mina continued. "But don't you think...you owe it to the memory of your people to destroy the last vestiges of the creatures that diminished them? You could at least give them that. Van Helsing can help you with that," she offered and gave him a brilliant smile.

Dracula looked at her, seriously.

From several floors below came a shout: "WHY is there blood in the microwave?!"

-

After that talk, Dracula agreed to join Van Helsing. There was an understandable, long-standing grudge between the two but they fought side by side and soon Dracula gained a small bit of respect for the vampire slayer. He watched the Hellsing Organization come to fruition. They chased vampires to the ends of the earth until there was not a one left.

Afterwards, the pair was able to lounge. Dracula watched idly as Van Helsing married an Englishwoman named Gerda and the birth of their two sons, Arthur and Richard. He watched as Van Helsing and all the others succumbed to age and eventually death. He would miss Mina, most of all.

He found his new home at Hellsing Manor, comfortable there until 1944, Warsaw, Poland.

* * *

**I'm sorry but I will NOT be going over The Dawn. First off all, I haven't read it all and I seriously doubt I'd be able to improvise it to an decent level. I have no wish to trash Kouta Hirano's work even though people seem to be pleased with how I've been doing. **

**The next chapter will be out in a couple of days (since it'll be short) and I'm gonna put extra special attention to Integra's Intro chapter. **

**(P.S. This takes place in...1893 and microwaves weren't invented until around 1970. I just felt I should point it out before some anal retentive jerk having a bad day tries to flame me.)**

**Thank you and don't forget to review!**

**  
**


	21. The Calm Before The Storm

**Another great chapter with a mess of reviews. Thanks all: **

**BadLuckCat  
BlackWingsBlackSoul  
Zizzi Hungarian  
Kantra  
Lord Makura  
Gale Frost - (I was waiting for your review! Oh, and super-special-awesome? Has someone been watching the Yu-gi-oh Abridged Series?)**

**Order 21: The Calm Before the Storm **

Many decades had passed. He was no longer Count Dracula but was referred to as Alucard, a name bestowed on him by Abraham's son, Arthur. Arthur was less than willing to take on a vampire servant and kept a respectable emotional distance from him, just as his father before him had. Alucard, for his part, found Arthur tolerable. He had liked watching the young boy play pranks on his father and turned a disdainful eye on his kowtowing brother, Richard.

When Abraham died, Alucard felt a strange emptiness. Not sadness or regret, just a feeling of loss. He had gone peacefully, in his sleep, of old age. Alucard felt no resentment to him, the slayer of his kind, that was centuries ago. It hardly mattered now. During his last days of life, he made known that the Hellsing Organization would fall under Arthur's control. Alucard looked with satisfaction as Richard's crestfallen look over the last declaration. Abraham had given the order that he, Alucard, would present himself to Arthur. Somewhere along the way it had been decided that as long as he lived that Alucard would serve the Hellsing family. No objections.

His existence was to be kept secret from everyone but Arthur and those he thought worthy. Whatever that meant. It was during Arthur's reign that Alucard's true powers came to light.

He was sent to Warsaw, Poland in September of 1944 with the Hellsing's retainer at his side. Walter C. Dornez, also known as the Angel of Death, a fourteen-year-old upstart with the power to control high-velocity microfilament wires with incredible skill and precision. Together they demolished all of the Millennium group and destroyed their plans to make artificial vampires. It was a glorious war in Alucard's eyes, one he'd relished. It was a good time in his life.

But good things _never_ last. Least not for this vampire.

He knew this all too well. Enough to put him in a state of slight paranoia. When the years after the events in Warsaw began to lengthen, he found himself carefully scanning each hallway before he walked. Extra precaution never hurt anyone, he reasoned.

It all turned out to be within reason though.

He was heading to the kitchen when an eerie stillness filled the air. He paused then sighed softly. This was it.

Hellsing soldiers surrounded him, guns up. He hid a smirk. The soldiers fired a ferocious barrage, the bullets all but ripping him apart. He reformed quickly and gave a quick smirk over his shoulder.

The first soldier lost his head, the next lost their limbs. He latched onto the throat of the next and dared the others to move. If they wanted a fight they'd have one, Hellsing soldiers or not.

"Stand down, Alucard," a voice said.

The vampire whirled around to see Arthur Hellsing standing nonchalantly, a cigarette hanging from his lips. Alucard grinned. "Who would have thought I was doing such a bad job?" he said lowly under his breath.

Arthur blew smoke out of his mouth in a faint sigh and spoke seriously. "You are too powerful a drug to be used as more than the occasional medicine. I can't have you walking around freely."

Alucard bared his teeth. "That is why I was created! I'm supposed to be powerful."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Then I'll just have to keep your powers under control."

Losing it for the moment, Alucard jumped above the soldiers and lunged straight towards Arthur. The Hellsing did not move, even as Alucard stopped with his hand outstretched for his neck. The vampire was unable to cause him harm.

The soldiers sprang forward, wrapping leather binds around Alucard and confining his hands behind his back. Alucard gave an uncharacteristic shriek but vampiric strength did nothing on these holds. He was straight jacketed.

He was taken to the sub-levels where the Black Arts Room, laboratory, autopsy theater, interrogation room, and dungeon was. They dragged him to the underground prison where the door was decorated with a huge symbol. Alucard took it to be some kind of restraint of his powers.

Before the door shut, Alucard gave one last look to Arthur, standing stoically at the end of the hall.

On that first day, Alucard sat and thought. He'd already tried to phase through the walls and nothing happened. His powers were completely nullified. He'd tensed his muscles and kicked at the door with enough force to bring the entire Hellsing manor to the ground. Still, it held. Three hours, ten thousand eight hundred seconds later, Alucard figured there was no escaping. He sighed softly to himself and sat down, his back facing the wall. He figured he was in for a wait.

He counted the seconds.

Twenty-one thousand six hundred seconds after the door shut, Alucard began to get hungry.

He took several deep breaths and tried to ignore the hunger. Were they even going to bring him any blood? A vampire's hunger can grow agonizing but Alucard was a long time away from feeling hunger pangs. He struggled to his feet and paced the room.

This imprisonment...it reminded him of many centuries back when he was still just a human servant. He shook his head hard. It was too early to start remembering the past.

Vampires live long lives. They carry with them decades and centuries of memories of people they'd met and places they'd been. Alucard was about to experience them all, all over again.

Eighty six thousand four hundred and thirty nine seconds after the door shut, Alucard was distinctly not amused.

How long were they going to keep him down there? This was getting ridiculous. It had been a full day and he hadn't received a drop of blood. He was quiet throughout the entire time, the silence his only accomplice.

Days passed.

Two million five hundred ninety two thousand seconds after the door shut, Alucard got his first visitor.

It was late at night when Walter snuck down to the dungeons. He placed his hands on the door and spoke softly.

"Alucard. Alucard, can you hear me?"

Alucard was silent. He could see the outside though, with his third eye. He saw Walter smile softly.

"I know it's gotta suck being locked away. Nothing I can do about that. I talked to Sir Arthur but he's pretty adamant. I'm not even allowed to be down here but I thought you could use some company."

Alucard smiled privately. Ever thoughtful Walter. He sometimes spoke like a child, like he would back when he was still fourteen, but only in Alucard's presence. And even then it was rare.

He watched as Walter sat with his back to the door.

"I don't think it's fair. We fought in Warsaw together. And for him to just lock you up, like a common prisoner? Where's the justice? I can say it wasn't one of Sir Arthur's smartest moves."

Alucard chuckled. He'd have to second that remark.

"Sir Arthur's going away soon," Walter continued. "To India. He'll be gone about a month." The young boy sighed. "The stupid knob to this door is jammed. I heard that only a Hellsing can open it. Man, does that suck. You know, I'd get you out of here if I could, right? Alucard?"

Alucard gave a low breath and called out:

"Yeah, Walter. I know."

He watched Walter smile. "Good. I should get out of here before someone notices I'm gone. I'll try to be back soon though." He rose to his feet. "Later, Alucard."

Alucard smiled. "Later, Walter."

Twenty years, two hundred eighty eight months, seven thousand three hundred days, ten million five thousand twelve hundred seconds...

...Is a long time when you have only yourself to keep you company.

Alucard thought a lot during that time. An idle vampire is a dangerous thing.

He thought of killing Arthur, something slow and painful. Then he thought of his loss at Abraham's hand and decided to ignore that thought.

He took to sleep at amazingly long intervals, the longest for five days straight. His dreams, when he had them, were tortured. Not the dreams themselves but the aftermath. He would dream of Mataji, of the nights they spent together making ardent love; he would remember Vivien, her warm smiles, her beautiful face, and he would wake to his empty cell, disappointed and depressed.

He wondered what he'd done to deserve such an imprisonment. They treated him like such a monster but truly where was the line between man and monster? Alucard tortured himself with these questions. It seemed the answer was conscience. A man has a conscience which holds him back from murdering. Monsters have no such things. Though Alucard never killed children he deemed this more a standard than an issue of conscience.

Five years after his imprisonment, he watched from his cell as Arthur Hellsing married an Indian woman named Radha. Two years after that, the couple had their first child: a girl they called Integra, the Latin for 'perfect'. Radha died almost two months after Integra's birth, from hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition in which morning sickness is constant and extreme, resulting in dehydration and malnutrition, due to frequent vomiting.

Arthur devoted his life to the child. From age five, he told her all about how one day she would inherit his place in the Royal Order of Protestant Knights. At seven, she started learning fencing, quickly showing skill.

Alucard watched all this from his place in the quiet dungeon. He had mixed feelings toward Integra. She was a cute little girl and he had always liked children but to think that he would have to answer to her one day made him angry. That is, if he ever got out of this dungeon.

Integra didn't go to school. Arthur home schooled her in typical subjects but also the workings of the vampire. He kept silent about Alucard's existence though.

As Integra grew up, Alucard began feeling more active. He hadn't moved in close to a year but he had the feeling once Integra was the only Hellsing left, he might get his freedom.

Of course, he'd envisioned this scenario a thousand times before but something about this time was different.

Alucard's intuition paid off.

Three days after Arthur's death, that slimy bastard Richard slipped his way into the castle and attempted to murder Integra.

Three days after Arthur's death, Alucard watched with intense focus as Integra crawled her way to his dungeon.

And thirteen million six hundred ninety five thousand forty three seconds after the door shut, the door opened.

**Okay, that's that. The next chapter's already almost done. Just need a bit more time. Keep reviewing. Love ya!**

**P.S: Counting off the seconds? I kind of borrowed that from an _AWESOME_ SessXKag fic written by Resmiranda. She's a true genius and I have to give credit where credit is due. Check her out. **


	22. Getting Acquainted: Master and Servant

**Oh, I'm itching to get this chapter out! Thanks to all those who've been reviewing. Don't stop! We're about to get into some comedy chapters. –evil laugh- You will love it! **

**Zizzi Hungarian**

**Koori Youkai Hime**

**Lord Makura**

**Gale Frost**

**BadLuckCat**

**BlackWingsBlackSoul**

**Kantra**

**Dr.Dead **

**Order 22: Getting Acquainted: Master and Servant**

Integra awoke early one morning, the third day after her father had died. It was before eight, the usual time when everyone in Hellsing Manor awoke. Integra was feeling especially lonely as Walter had taken a trip to South America and wouldn't be back for another day. She had only her Uncle Richard to keep her company.

She began thinking of breakfast as she walked back to her room.

"Where is that girl? She's supposed to be here."

Integra peeked curiously around the corner of the door. She saw two men pulling the sheet back from her bed. More importantly, she saw the guns in their hands.

One of the men pulled a walkie-talkie from his belt and spoke into it:

"She's not here. Check for her on your end."

Integra covered her mouth softly and backed away as silently as she could.

She headed down a different hallway only to be cut off by another group of men. Quickly, she ducked down behind an ancient suit of armor that stood in the hall.

"We've searching the place top to bottom," one of them said. "Richard said to shoot the brat on sight." Integra gulped nervously and held her breath as the men walked by.

What's going on? she thought, nervously. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and to think of what to do. Men with guns in front and in back. Critical situation.

First things first: she had to get out of sight.

She maneuvered the halls quickly, making her way to an empty bathroom. She slipped inside and pressed her back against the door. Now to think of a plan.

Men with guns apparently hired by her Uncle to assassinate her for some reason. The few maids that her father had hired were most likely not awake yet and so just screaming through the halls would probably bring the gunmen before them. Trying to make a break for the exit could get her shot. Chances were the exit was guarded as well anyway.

She sat on the toilet lid and buried her face in her hands. "Why is this happening to me," she whispered, tearfully.

Integra froze up as she heard footsteps outside the door. In seconds though, they had passed.

Hot tears filled her eyes. Those men were going to kill her. She almost started crying when she suddenly remembered something her father had told her a long time ago.

_If you should ever be confronted with a true crisis, where all hope is lost, make your way to the forgotten underground prison. There in one of the cells lies your protection. There you will find the consummation of our Hellsing family's greatest achievement. _

She had to make it to the sublevels. But how with the halls crawling with hit men?

She looked around frantically, her eyes falling on the air vent above her head.

Integra stood on the toilet lid and quietly pulled the grate away from the vent. She carefully placed it on the floor and hoisted herself up into the vent. She had to kick the wall a couple times for support but she was in there after a few moments.

She crawled hands and knees in the direction of the sublevels, on the way passing her father's office where she heard voices.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Richard shouted.

"It's unprecedented, sir, but the Queen has given her personal approval."

Integra came to the spot overlooking the office and looked down. She saw her Uncle at the desk, the gunmen lined up before him.

"Goddamn it," Richard said. "There's only three days left until the succession ceremony. I've waited twenty years for my brother's demise. I will not have the organization stolen from me by that brat!" He slammed his fist on the desk and an ashtray clattered to the floor.

"So why haven't you found Integra yet?" he asked, slightly more calmed. "Do you realize Walter will return from South America tomorrow? Do you realize how difficult his presence will make this?"

"But we've checked the building top to bottom, sir," one man said.

Richard covered his face in exasperation. "No more excuses. I want this to end tonight."

"The sublevels have yet to be searched, sir," the same man said helpfully.

"But those sublevels have been sealed off for well over twenty years. In my opinion, she's already made good her escape," another said.

"The sublevels. Black arts room, laboratory, interrogation room, autopsy theater, dungeon. I can think of no more fitting a place for trapping filthy vermin." He cocked his gun.

"The brat is hiding somewhere in the sublevels. Kill her on sight; we can forge our excuses later. Now go."

The men filed out of the room.

"It's only been three days since Father died," Integra said, her voice tight with anger. "Bastard! What of your morals?" She took a deep breath and started to hurry on. She had to get there before the others.

Integra crawled swiftly before coming to the basement levels. She knocked out the grate and jumped to the floor below. A door decorated with a huge symbol greeted her. She took a deep breath and slipped into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Though I might be safe now," she said lowly. "I'll soon be discovered."

The presence of another caught her attention. She turned nervously…

…and met with Alucard's dried up corpse.

She flinched at the sight. "A dead body!" She crept a little closer and nudged him nervously with the toe of her boot. "Is this supposed to protect me? This isn't funny." Her eyes narrowed as she looked around the empty room then back to the corpse. "I've nowhere else to go. You don't mind me here, do you?"

Alucard, his vocals dried up from twenty years lack of blood, did not respond.

Integra sighed softly and sat beside him, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"I thought maybe a knight in shining armor would be here. Instead I get a dead man. If only such fairy tales were real," she said with a sigh. Tears started in her eyes again. "I don't want to die. I really don't…"

A few minutes passed with nothing happening. Integra almost began to relax when the door was suddenly kicked open.

"FOUND HER!" someone shouted.

"No," she whispered.

She jumped to her feet as Richard and his coalition filed into the room.

"You've given us quite a run, Integra," Richard said. "But it ends here. For the future of my country, my church, my Queen, and my sacred Hellsing family, you will die." He leveled his gun.

"Uncle," Integra breathed. "What kind of man are you? Father entrusted Hellsing to me." She glared angrily at him. "Not you!"

"You damn brat!" Richard fired his gun. The bullet grazed Integra's cheek and a stream of blood flowed down her face.

"Do you think I won't be willing to shoot a little girl? Well, do you?" He cocked the gun again.

He fired again and this time the bullet ripped through her shoulder. Integra twisted and fell to the ground from the pain; her glasses flew off and shattered on the floor. Her blood splattered on the face of the corpse.

"Don't think your death will come easily, Integra," Richard said and prepared to shoot again.

Integra watched him but her attention was soon drawn to a sound behind her. She looked over her shoulder, eyes widening in alarm.

The corpse had bent forward and was licking the blood from the ground.

"Wh-what?!"

He looked up at them now, his face bloodied, and gave an evil smirk. He lifted his arms above his head and ripped apart the bindings holding them together.

"Shoot him. Kill him. Send him back to Hell!" Richard shouted.

Before anyone could get a shot off though, Alucard launched forward and ripped the head off the first gunmen. He let the blood pour into his mouth before slaying the others. Richard pointed his gun but soon it and his arm ended up on the floor.

Integra watched all this with wide eyes.

And then the vampire set its sight on her.

He came towards her and she picked up Richard's fallen gun and pointed it at him.

He paused in his step. "You are the one who has disturbed my rest." His voice was deep and raspy.

Integra narrowed her eyes. "Don't come any closer to me. Monster."

He grinned at her with bloody canines. "Your sweet blood was the first I've tasted in over twenty silent years."

She fired five bullets and watched in awe as all the wounds closed up before her eyes.

He laughed and moved forward, slamming both hands on either side of her, trapping her.

"Vile demon," she said, glaring at him. "I am the lord and master of the Hellsing family, Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing." She cocked the gun.

His grin grew wider. "That gun is useless against me. Give up, little girl and listen-"

"Shut up!" she shouted, cutting him up. "I'll never give up! I would die before giving up! That is my duty and pride as the leader of the Hellsing organization."

He began to laugh. "Wonderful. Just wonderful! You make my blood boil. You are your father's daughter." He backed away, to her surprise, and bowed his head. "Forgive my impertinence. Your orders, my Master?"

She looked scared.

Behind them, Richard pulled a gun off the floor. "Damn it, I am the leader of Hellsing! Hellsing is mine!" He fired the gun directly at Integra.

Alucard reached out and his arm blocked the bullet.

"Your blood rots," he said with a growl. "You are not the master of this house and you will never be the master of me."

Integra leveled her gun and said softly. "What's your name?"

"Alucard," he replied. "That is the name your father gave me."

She fired the gun.

When silence fell over the two, Alucard rose to his feet. He held out his hand. "We should get out of here."

Integra hesitated a moment then took the hand and he pulled her up. Alucard gave a smirk and started out. Integra cast a hasty look around at the dead bodies and followed.

He was silent as he walked upstairs, making Integra increasingly nervous. She blushed slightly, trying to think of something to say.

"Alucard," she called softly and he looked over his shoulders. "Hmm?"

"Are you supposed to…do as I say?" she asked, hesitantly.

He chuckled. "Yes, that was the idea. Don't get too caught up on it though. Christ, I'm hungry," he said and stretched his arms over his head.

"Have you really been down there for twenty years?" Integra asked.

"Ever since your father locked me away," he responded.

"So you knew him then?" Integra asked, completely ignoring the fact her father had someone imprisoned for two decades.

"Yes, I knew him," Alucard replied with a bored tone. "Your grandfather, too. You come from a long line of vampire slayers."

"Why were you locked away?" she continued, doggedly.

Alucard shrugged, evasively. "Who knows?" They came up to the main floors and he headed for Arthur's office. "So where's Walter?" he asked casually.

"Oh! Walter is away. In South America. He'll be back tomorrow."

Alucard grinned. "Can't wait to see the look on the old dog's face when he sees me again." He then looked down at Integra. "Let me see your shoulder."

She had forgotten about the wound for the moment. She raised her arm and he rolled up her sleeve to check the skin. His contact bothered Integra a little. Swiftly, he pierced the indix finger of his right hand and allowed a drop of blood to drip onto the wound. It immediately closed up and vanished, leaving no evidence of its existence. "Wow," Integra said breathlessly.

He pushed open the door to the office and crossed the room to the old filing cabinet.

"What are you getting?" Integra asked, looking over his shoulder.

"New clothes," he said, offhandedly.

"Why?"

He gave her a withering look. "Would you rather I walk around in blood drenched garments? I haven't showered in over twenty years, you know."

Integra blushed slightly. "Oh, right. The bathroom is-"

"Down the hall and to the right, thanks." He started past her. "I know where everything in this castle is already." And he headed for the bathroom. Integra pouted slightly and followed.

"How long have you been here? In the castle, I mean. You say you know my grandfather but you don't look any older than thirty."

He paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Why are you asking so many questions?"

She glared at him. "I'm just trying to get to know you a little better."

He smirked. "I like long walks under the moonlight and virgin's blood on ice. My turnoffs include prying questions, sunlight, and ponies."

"That's not funny," she said with a serious look. "You're kind of a jerk, you know?"

He shrugged. "I've been called worst," he said and phased through the door, leaving her standing there.

From inside: "Jesus, I'm a freaking blonde."

Integra sighed in exasperation. "Hey! What's wrong with blondes?"

-

Integra looked up as Alucard emerged from the bathroom cleaned off and dressed up. "Much better," he said with a sigh. He looked down at Integra. "What's wrong with you, Miss Hellsing?"

Integra looked at him with a stern look and rose to her feet. She straightened her skirt and spoke with a no-nonsense voice. "I think we need to have a talk."

Alucard yawned widely.

"Are you even listening?" Integra cried in exasperation.

"You think we could have the whole Master and servant talk a little later? My first time out in twenty years, I'd rather not spend it being lectured." He turned away from her. Integra glared. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Out," Alucard said dismissively. He pulled a pair of circular orange lensed sunglasses from his pocket and covered his eyes. "Don't worry. I'll come back." He watched Integra's face soften somewhat then headed out.

The outside had changed. Everything was different to Alucard and he inspected the newly constructed buildings with growing interest as he walked.

It was cloudy out, thanks for that. Alucard walked swiftly actually enjoying, for once, the day, the sun that threatened to peek out from behind the clouds. A goth girl sitting idle on a corner caught sight of him and smiled flirtatiously. Alucard flashed a fang and watched her eyes widen in fascination.

The sun was slowly going down and Alucard realized he would have to return to the mansion, to Integra. It was a very sobering thought and he briefly contemplated just turning around and not coming back. But Integra was distinctly different from his previous masters. Firstly, she was a girl. Secondly, she was a little girl. A pre-teen angel she was and would remain for another year or two. Home schooled and sheltered, she was ignorant of the dangers (and thrills) of this world. Alucard grinned madly.

It was his job to educate her.

He was quickly putting himself in a state of ecstasy as he paced back to the mansion. Integra was such a sweet little thing. It'd be a damn shame to corrupt her.

When he arrived at the mansion, Integra was in the back office of her father's study. She was running a hand over Alucard's coffin. He frowned slightly at the sight of it. Twenty years and no one had bothered to dust it off? What was Arthur paying those damn maids for?

"Don't you know not to touch other people's property?" he called out, startling her.

"Oh, Alucard!" Integra whirled around, her eyes wide. "Don't you know to announce yourself when entering a room? Really, that was quite rude."

"Oh, you must forgive me, Master," he said sarcastically and moved past her. He lifted his coffin up with one hand and moved to the door.

"Where are you going to put it?" Integra asked.

"Hmm... Maybe next to your bed," he said with a grin and walked out. Integra followed after him. "That's not funny, Alucard. Don't you dare."

When he had settled his coffin in a new location, he was summoned to Integra's new office. The young girl sat behind the chair, looking very much like her father, to Alucard's chagrin. She noticed the look on his face.

"Yeah, this is probably going to be a little weird, I admit." She shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it. So listen up."

"Acting just like your father," Alucard said, shaking his head. "Except for being an obnoxious, perverted drunk."

Integra rose to her feet, her face slightly red. "My father was none of those things!" she said, hotly.

"Probably not. In your presence," he said smugly.

Integra pinched the skin between her eyes, agitated and chose to ignore him. "As the Hellsing Organization's vampire, you are to do as I say," she said. Alucard rolled his eyes. "You eliminate other vampires and threats and when there are none, you are to be used as I see fit."

Alucard grinned lecherously. "And how do you want to use me, Master?"

Integra blushed. "That- that's not what I meant, you bloody idiot!"

"Such harsh words from a tiny little girl like you. What would Walter say if he knew how you cursed?"

Integra bared her teeth triumphantly. "Who's he going to believe? Me or an ageless vampire? In any case, I order you not speak a word of anything we say to Walter."

Alucard grinned. He was a step away from dancing in joy. Integra was going to be so much fun! She had lived an isolated life and with his arrival she found an outlet for all the things she'd bottled up, all the mischievous things she always wanted to do but couldn't because it was improper for a Hellsing lady with English upbringing.

"Understood," he said with a nod.

"Good," she replied with a smirk. Alucard was laughing inside. She thought she was the one in control! That he was some new pet that followed her around. Ha! Miss Hellsing was going to get a rude wake up call.

He leaned over and placed both hands on the desk. Integra, not to be outdone, did the same.

"You are hereby dismissed, Servant," she said.

Their noses were inches apart. Alucard could lean over and give her a little kiss, something to rile her up. But he chose not to. Instead, he smirked, showing his fang. "Yes, my Master."

And he phased from the room.

But he kept on eye on her. Integra stood that way for a few seconds then she fell back to the chair, giggling madly. Alucard grinned and headed to his new room. His new master was going to regret her words. Oh yes.

**This is the game plan for those of you who were wondering. There will be two, maybe three chapters dedicated to Integra and Alucard then we move into the FREAK saga along with the introduction of Seras, then the new Millennium group, then Alucard's daughter Katherine and then a whole new uber evil bad guy threat. (Then probably the end) Don't you love it?!**


	23. In Control

**Oooh, so many reviews! The regular amount seems to be about 6-9 per chapter and that makes me smile. I am so loving this story. Thanks all: **

**Gale Frost  
Lord Makura  
BlackWingsBlackSoul  
Kantra  
BadLuckCat  
Dr.Dead  
Zizzi Hungarian**

**Order 23: In Control**

Integra quickly learned she was in over her head.

By a lot.

She tried to ignore Alucard's perverted insinuations but they always left her blushing. Being a woman of nobility, she just didn't discuss those matters. Alucard took advantage of her ignorance of the subject any chance he could, most notably the time when he tried to have a sex ed chat with her when he caught her reading one of the steamy romance paperbacks she kept hidden under her mattress. After about thirty seconds of his "teachings", Integra forced him from the room in a barrage of bullets. "Wait!" he'd shouted. "I still have to explain masturbation!"

As Alucard's new hobby was to bother Integra, Integra's was to shoot Alucard. As the bullets had no effect on him, she could do it to her heart's content with minimal guilt. (Except for the first time she did it when he pretended he was hurt, provoking her concern, only to jump up with no bodily harm. He caught one between the eyes for that transgression.)

Walter was happy to have his old friend back and laughed in private at the way Integra chased Alucard around the mansion. Alucard, as well, was pleased to see him, commenting on the apparent and unsightly way he'd aged. He was joking of course.

Integra found no peace with Alucard around. There were no major threats going on in underground England so she was stuck with the cagey vampire almost every night. Alucard spared her no embarrassment even going to far as to phase in on her in the bath. He was amazed at the speed Integra could wrap herself in her towel then grab him around the throat and hold his head under water. Truly so.

Alucard began to learn Integra was a great actress. In front of Walter and the Round Table, she was a perfectly composed young British woman and an excellent leader. When she was alone with Alucard, she was loud, cursed much more, joked around, and was extremely volatile. The difference in personality was somewhat unnerving and he questioned if she might have dissociative identity disorder.

"There's never been a case of mental illness in my family and there is not one now," she'd replied confidently.

Alucard was less sure.

Swiftly, too swiftly, the days began to pass. Integra had just recently turned thirteen when her father died and Alucard was released. Six months after that, she began behaving strangely.

For the first week, she spent most of her days in the library. This wasn't so unusual but when anyone inquired as to her choice of book for the day, she was edgy and evasive. When Alucard tried to pry into her mind, he was met with a mental block and a swift kick in the shin.

She was irritated with the staff and even Walter and one night, she locked herself away in her bedroom. Alucard stood on the other side, listening curiously. She was moaning softly to herself. His master sounded in pain. Stomachache? Migraine? He wouldn't let Integra hold him back from knowing.

He phased through the door and immediately dodged a bullet.

"Get out!" she cried at him.

"Integra, what is the matter with-" He stopped and sniffed the air. There was the scent of blood.

"Are you hurt?" he asked quickly, crossing the room and to her bed where she was huddled over.

"No," she moaned lowly. "Get out, you stupid vampire."

He ignored her name calling and grasped her wrists. "Stop acting childish, Integra," he commanded. "And tell me where you're-" He stopped. There were no visible wounds. And immediately he knew.

"Integra," he said with a sly, sneaky voice.

"Nooo," she moaned, pulling out of his grasp and curling back up on the bed. "I don't need it right now, Alucard. Don't start."

But he was already getting started.

"There comes a time in every young woman's life when her body begins to go through a series of changes."

Integra feverishly searched the sheets for her gun. Alucard dangled it from his finger and continued.

"Once every month, for three to five days, every young woman will experience what is known as a period."

"I know that, you degenerate bloodsucker!" she shouted. "I read all about it already." She reached out, trying for her gun, but Alucard moved it up out of her reach. Another cramp spasm ripped through her abdomen and Integra doubled over in pain. Alucard watched his young master for a moment then turned away, heading for the bathroom. He returned with a glass of water and two small pills in his hand.

"Here," he said. "It'll help with the pain."

Integra snatched the Midol from his hand and swallowed the water in a few gulps. She took a deep breath and the pain began to lessen. She sighed and flopped down on her stomach, turning her head away from him. She seemed rather angry with herself.

"Bloody hell," she cursed lowly. "This is just the kind of thing the Round Table members need to see to convince them I'm weak and unfit. A little girl couldn't possibly be leader of an organization like Hellsing," she said sarcastically. "Not with their periods and female indecisiveness. It sucks being a girl!" she cried out, burying her face in a pillow.

Alucard sat on the bed beside her. "Integra," he said softly. "Being a girl doesn't mean you are weak."

"In a country ruled by men, yes it does," she retorted, cutting him off. "Even the Queen is sometimes treated as a mere figure head."

"It doesn't," he insisted. "I have known many women in my life. All of them were the strongest and most cunning of their kind. You could easily be counted among them, human though you are."

She looked at him, eyes narrowed, suspicious of a joke. When she saw he was being sincere, she rose to a sitting position. "I'll just have to prove that I can be a strong woman too." She nodded with fast determination. "I will!" She rose to her feet but a sudden cramp grounded her again. "...Starting next week." Alucard grinned.

-

Alucard informed Walter of Integra's little problem and also that he would be tending to her throughout the week. Walter looked slightly perturbed at that but Alucard ignored it.

His interaction with Integra was minimal. She spent most of her time, sleeping or in the shower. She barely ate or left her room. On the fourth day, Alucard located her in the bathroom and quickly phased there.

But she wasn't in the shower. She was sitting on the floor with her legs up and perched on the bath tub sill, her back to the toilet. At Alucard's sudden appearance, she flinched and raised her hand up over her head and behind her but settled down at the sight of her pet monster.

"Oh, it's just you," she said nonchalantly and put the cigar in her fingers back to her lips.

"Integra," he said disapprovingly. "Young lady, when did you start smoking?"

"Young lady?" she challenged, rising to her feet. "Alucard, did you forget? I'm a woman now." She took a deep drag from her cigar and blew the smoke out the corner of her mouth. Alucard grinned at her audacity. "You think just because you bleed once a month that makes you a woman?" He moved closer to her, pinning her up against the door.

"You don't know the first thing about being a woman," he spoke lowly in her ear.

Integra raised an eyebrow. "And I suppose you do?" She pushed him away then dropped her cigar in the toilet. "Bathrooms are meant to ensure privacy," she said lowly. "I don't want you popping in here on me whenever you feel like." She flushed the cigar away then left the room.

When Integra wasn't a bloody mess, she spent her time with Walter learning how to become a true leader. They were often holding staged debates or fencing matches. It was almost enough to make Alucard jealous. When he grew exhausted of bothering Integra he would often find himself alone, staring at the sky, reminiscing privately. On one such night, Integra tried to sneak up on him. She bypassed his hearing but he could always smell her coming a mile away.

She crept up and reached out to push and maybe scare him but before her hands made contact with his back, a wall of shadows rose up and blocked her.

"Rejected," Alucard said distractedly.

Integra pouted and moved to stand beside him. "What are you doing here all by yourself?" she asked curiously.

"Standing," he replied. "I like to do that occassionally."

Integra rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a smartass, okay?" She leaned into him. "You look like you were reminiscing," she teased. "Probably about some woman you used to know."

"You're acting like a brat, Integra," he said lowly.

"Yeah, this coming from the guy who likes to send hoardes of bats into my room first thing in the morning."

Alucard smiled softly. That had been fun.

"So how many women have you been with?" she said conversationally, even though she didn't normally talk of such things.

"I've lost count," he said softly.

"Why are you being so distant?" Integra asked, pouting a bit. "God, any other time you'd love to bother and bug me and when I try to do it to you you're completely unresponsive." He looked at her silently. She raised an eyebrow. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" She took his chin in her hands and turned his face this way and that. "You're behaving strangely."

He looked at her stoically. "I must say I'm a bit bored."

She pouted. "Oh, so I'm not enough fun for you? I see how it goes." She started to remove her hand but Alucard grabbed her around the wrist. Surprised, she looked up at him. He looked serious.

"It's...a vampire thing. You wouldn't understand. When you live as long as I have, you can sometimes get listless and bored. It comes with age."

Integra smirked. "Then why don't you just kill yourself?"

A small smile crossed Alucard's face. "Because suicide is for weak-willed individuals. Not me."

Integra leaned against the balcony railing and looked up at him. "Do you ever think maybe it's unfair that you've lived so long? I mean, I'm sure you've seen people die. And it kind of sucks that they could leave you behind."

Alucard looked down at her. It was a smart thing for a little girl like her to understand and recognize.

"Don't look surprised," Integra scolded. "I'm a lot smarter than people think I should be." She rested her chin in her hands. "In any case, I'm sure you'll just have something to keep you interested and not bored. Me, I have a whole organization to run and a butler who acts like a father and...I have you."

It was an oddly sweet thing to say, for someone like the stone-faced Integra anyway.

"I've surprised at your level of fondness for me," he said, beginning to tease her once more.

"You're my pet monster," she said with a bright, little-girl smile. "Of course, I'm fond of you."

He was even further surprised by her oppenness. It was not a trait Integra usually showed. She turned away from him and started heading inside. He looked over his shoulder and watched her go but she stopped at the entrace and turned around again. She smiled at him.

"You look very rattled, Alucard," she said teasingly.

A corner of the vampire's mouth lifted in a smirk.

She stuck her tongue out at him and went inside.

**Kind of short, yes but the next one I intend to make longer. You're gonna like the next chapter. Just imagine Integra trying to fit in with other kids her age and getting invited to her first party. **


	24. Party, Anyone?

**Yay, people are still reading. –smile- Lovely. Thanks as always to those who reviewed: **

**Lord Makura  
Gale Frost  
Crow120  
Zizzi Hungarian  
BadLuckCat  
Kantra  
shidori  
BlackWingsBlackSoul **

**Order 24: Party, Anyone?**

Integra's growth was rapid and with it came a whirlwind of hormones that almost swept Alucard and Walter off their feet.

A teenage girl is a strange thing, indeed. They can burst into tears at the drop of hat, make quick, non-logical decisions, and lose all reason completely. Integra did not do these things but her behavior began to change. She was still the skilled actress, for the most part, but her interests began to grow and spread out. She wanted to know and experience things a normal girl would go through.

She grew distracted in Walter's teachings and began to privately question Alucard in matters of the flesh and Alucard once again brought up his question of her having a split personality disorder. This new personality (whom he dubbed simply 'Tegra) was like a regular girl who wanted to be out with other kids, have a bit of fun and mischief. A total contrast to his ice queen mistress, Integra. More importantly, he found no fun in teasing her now that she requested the information.

"But if a man pulls out at the moment of ejaculation," she asked one day flipping through a rather large textbook. "Can the woman still get pregnant?"

Alucard sighed. "Yes, she can. Why bother asking me if all you have to do is find the answer in that book of yours?"

"Don't sound so long-suffering," she scolded. "Any other time you'd love to torture me with this information. Would you rather I pretend to be the scared little girl who doesn't talk of such things?" she teased.

"You are not that little girl anymore," Alucard said slowly.

"Damn straight," Integra said and nodded, taking a drag off her cigar.

Walter had enrolled her in a few courses at the local university. She was a part time student taking college level courses and excelling in them. It was there she met one of her first 'friends'.

A college freshman named Rachel took the same biology class as Integra. They were partners in fact. Rachel mistook Integra as being seventeen when she was barely close to being sixteen and Integra did nothing to disprove the theory. Alucard, picking her up from the school one day, saw her with her new friend. Rachel was pretty, bordering beautiful with light brown hair, fair skin, and blue eyes not much different from Integra's. He immediately didn't like her.

"Why not?" Integra had asked in defense of her friend.

Alucard had shrugged. "Something about her doesn't sit well with me. I'm getting bad vibes."

Integra had scoffed. "Vibes, my ass. You just don't like I've got a friend besides you," she said smugly and walked ahead of him.

Alucard couldn't believe she could truly be so foolish and passed it off as only stupid teenage hormones. He was praying for this phase to pass when Integra did something completely radical.

She summoned Alucard to her room late one night and ordered him to stand still. Then she approached him with a devious smile on her face.

"What are you up to?" he asked, suspiciously.

Integra's smile grew wider. "I want you to kiss me."

"You want _what_?"

"You heard me," she said. "Why not, huh?" she walked up to him until they was only about three inches away. "God, you're tall," she breathed softly.

"'Tegra, you're not thinking straight."

"Yeah, I am. Come on, Alucard, all I want is one little kiss. Would you rather I find my first kiss in the form of some degenerate not worthy?" He listened to her and she continued. "You think I don't notice the way you look at me? Like I _belong_ to you. How the mere thought of me with anyone else bothers you endlessly."

"Integra," he said sternly. "Don't presume to know me."

She blinked, surprised then looked somewhat saddened. "Alucard. I'm not a little girl anymore."

"Yes, you are," he shot back and her eyes widened. A smile crossed his face. "I'm five hundred and fifty nine, Integra. You will always be a little girl to me."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you denying me so you won't seem like a pedophile?" He chuckled and rolled his eyes, looked away. Integra glared, small blushes appearing on her cheeks. "Damn it, Alucard, stop messing around with me."

He looked at her surprised. "_I'm_ messing with _you_?"

"Yes! You look at me like you want me all the time and the one time I offer myself, you turn away. Alucard, I know you love me!"

He looked shocked then burst out laughing.

"What?" Integra shouted over his laughs. "What is so bloody funny?"

"Hormones. They're a real kick!" He settled down and ruffled her hair. "You know you're simply going through a phase. You're just trying to get the full extent of it. Sooner or later you'll be back to the Integra I know and maybe even love."

"Maybe?" She swatted his hand away. "You know what, Alucard. I don't know what came over me." She gave him a fierce glare in an attempt to intimidate. "Get out!"

Alucard smiled brightly. This was the Integra he knew. Before he disappeared though, he bent down swiftly and kissed her on the forehead. Shocked still, Integra didn't move as he vanished.

Integra returned to her bossy leader status but she still experienced a bit of the irregular at school, particularly so when Rachel invited her to a party.

Integra quickly fell into her ecstatic teenage role and begged Walter to let her go.

"_Please_ Walter, this will be my first party ever! How could you possibly say no?"

But her pleas fell on deaf ears. Walter did not approve of the things young teenagers did at parties and he would let Integra have no part in them.

"Young children do drugs, Integra. They drink and they smoke and do all kinds of ungodly things. What kind of guardian would I be if I let you witness those things?"

"Walter," Integra said sardonically. "With the exception of the drugs, _Father_ did all of those things, albeit not in front of me. Walter, all I want to do is hang out with my friends and dance."

Walter looked up sharply. "And since when do you know how to dance?"

Integra was never skilled on her feet. Even when Walter tried to teach her waltzes and ballroom dances she was clumsy and ill-timed. She stood no chance copying the fast pace moves of a regular teenager. But Rachel was teaching her a few steps and she was learning a little.

"I can't," she answered carefully. "I was just using it as an example."

"I don't know," Walter said hesitantly.

"Would it help if I had Rachel's parents call you? To prove that the whole party will be supervised and nothing bad is going on?"

"That would help," Walter said, nodding.

Integra relayed the message to her friend who in turn had her mother contact Walter. Still, the old butler had his inhibitions. He gave Integra a stern talking to the week before the party.

"Remember wherever you go, you will be representing Hellsing. You are of royal blood and should act accordingly. I don't want to here of any tasteless behavior on your part, Integra."

She nodded. "I understand."

"If anything...inappropriate is happening, I want you to call me immediately and I will pick you up, understand?"

Integra rolled her eyes. "I understand, Walter."

Saturday rolled around. The day of the party, Integra was frantic. She didn't really have anything you might call casual. Rachel had lent her a blue t-shirt which she wore under her usual dress shirt which she would take off before she got to the party and after she left the mansion. She was cursing in the bathroom, two hours before the party. Alucard phased in on her to see what the problem is. He laughed as he saw her. "Integra, what are you doing?"

She cursed and threw the eyeliner pencil into the sink. "I can't get this bloody thing right. Why bother?" She turned on the water and wiped the black lines she had drawn under her eyelids.

"You're stressing for no reason," Alucard said as she leaned into the mirror.

"My skin looks weird," she said distractedly. "Alucard, does my skin look weird?" she asked looking to him for an answer.

"Hmm, wow, yeah it does. You've got a huge purple bruise forming under your eyes. Not to mention you're horribly disfigured."

Integra pouted and turned away from him. She put her hands on her hips and threw out her chest. "God, this shirt is revealing," she said of the tight short sleeved garment.

"It goes nicely though," Alucard said absently, crossing the room to sit on the toilet lid. "Blue's a nice color for you."

She had taken one of her old regular skirts that was slightly shorter because of its age but nothing too extreme. She was thinking of what to do with her hair before saying to Alucard: "You ever notice we always seem to end up in the bathroom together?"

"Just a little more and it'll be the bedroom."

Integra scowled and threw a bar of soap at him. "Perv." She inspected herself again, gathering her long hair into a ponytail. "Up or down?"

"Definitely down," Alucard said rising up. "I only came here because my dinner was missing."

"Oh right. I was going to drop it off before I left. Sorry. It's out there on my table."

Alucard headed for it but Integra stopped him for a moment. "Can I borrow your sunglasses?" she asked innocently. He raised an eyebrow. "They don't go with your outfit."

She nodded. "Good point."

It was seven o' clock when Walter and Alucard stood on the steps of the mansion as they watched Integra head for a car driven by a trained Hellsing soldier. "Be back by nine," Walter called.

Alucard could see the insulted look on Integra's face. "Eleven!" she called back.

"Ten," Walter said.

" Ten thirty," Integra challenged.

"Ten," Walter said again, firm.

"Deal," Integra said with a laugh. "I'll be back later." She waved fondly and slammed the car door.

Walter sighed softly. "I have a bad feeling about this," he said lowly.

"She's growing up," Alucard said with a shrug as he turned and walked inside idly sipping his dinner blood...along with enough crushed sleeping pills to induce a coma.

Integra didn't want her pet vampire snooping along, following and watching her from rooftops. She was damn near a grown-up and she wanted to prove it. He was just feeling the effects when Integra pulled up in front of Rachel's house. She waved goodbye (and away) to her driver and walked up the steps to the front door, taking several deep breaths to calm her anxiety. Then she rang the doorbell.

The call went ignored for about half a minute before the door opened, revealing Rachel. She was dressed in tight jeans and a red belly shirt. Her hair was considerably lighter.

"You streaked your hair," Integra said.

"Yeah," she grinned and pulled her inside. "You look super cute, girlfriend. Come on and join the party." She led Integra through the house, through a small crowd of kids conversing over the lowered music. Integra beamed; her first party! Rachel laughed when she saw the cheesy grin on her face. "You're acting like such a spaz, 'Tegra," she said with a grin. "Chill out."

Integra paused to look around then asked innocently: "Where are your parents?"

Rachel grinned. "Out of town."

"But I thought they'd be here?" she continued, confused.

"Yeah well, you said your caretaker wouldn't let you come without some kind of supervision so I just pretended to be my mother." Integra must have looked shocked so she went on, "It's no big deal. We've got plenty of supervision, in that some guys here are over twenty-one. It's no big deal," she reassured her again.

"Well," Integra reasoned. "It's a small party so I don't see the harm."

Rachel's grin grew. "It's small for now. Just wait until later."

"What's later?" Integra asked but Rachel volunteered no answer. Instead she headed away. "Just going to the bathroom," she said. "Go get a drink. Mingle." And she left on the trail of a laugh.

Integra panicked slightly. Nothing to make a teenage girl feel more awkward then faced with a room of potential strangers. But she noticed one or two kids from her classes at the university and went to talk with them. Troy, a sophomore in her English class, caught sight of Integra and they chatted for a moment before Rachel returned with a thin jacket on.

"Let's move it out, party!" she shouted and the house's inhabitants began to shift and move for the door. Nervously, Integra sought out Rachel. "What's going on? Is the party over?"

Rachel laughed. "No, silly girl. We're just moving to a bigger scene." Integra hesitated. "I don't know."

"Oh, Integra, don't be such a prude!" Rachel chastised. "We're just going to a club south of here. We'll be there for an hour and then we'll get out. God, it's like no problem at all."

"But I can't go to a club," she protested. "I'm too young."

"Let _me_ worry about getting you in, okay? In the meantime, just chill out. Stop acting like a little girl."

A blush appeared on Integra's cheeks. "I'm not a little girl!" she said.

Rachel grinned. "Good. Then hook me up with one of your cigars, huh?" Integra passed her one and she winked at her. "Thanks, girl. Now let's get going." She took Integra's hand and pulled her outside.

There were three cars parked outside. Integra got in with Rachel, Troy, a boy she didn't know but saw in school, and another boy she didn't know at all. Rachel turned up the stereo and they drove for almost twenty minutes. Integra grew apprehensive.

When the car finally pulled to a stop, Integra couldn't believe her eyes. They were parked in front of a huge building with a line that snaked around the corner. The bass from inside the club shook their car and Integra could see blinding lights whenever the door opened.

Rachel climbed from the driver's side and led the way to the entrance, completely bypassing the line. The bouncer at the door seemed to know them all and only gave momentary glances to the i.d they flashed. He stopped her when Integra came up to the entrance.

"I.D?" he rumbled.

Rachel moved in front of her. "Hey. It's the little one's first party. Let her in for me, would ya, Slim?"

Slim looked skeptical but let Integra pass.

The inside of the club was even more chaotic than the outside. People were dancing shoulder to shoulder to the pounding bass, screeching guitar, and clashing drums. The strobe lights were giving her headaches. "This music is awful," Integra shouted as loud as she could to Rachel.

"Of course it is," she shouted back. "It's techno!"

She guided Integra to the bar and ordered a drink. "You need to loosen up," she shouted. The bartender handed her a glass which she passed to Integra. She sniffed the drink suspiciously. "What is this?" she asked.

"Coke and rum!" Rachel shouted. "Just drink it!"

Integra took a tentative sip. As she didn't immediately drop dead, she took another then tilted the glass back. Rachel laughed. "That's the way to do it! Come on, let's dance!" She pulled Integra onto the (alleged) dance floor and the pair moved wildly together. Integra forgot her inhibitions for the moment and was swept up with the insane momentum of the music and the atmosphere.

_See. I knew Walter was being silly. I've had one drink, I'm in a club, and I'm dancing. I am completely in control, _Integra thought smugly.

As time passed though, Integra had another coke and rum and one more after that. She was resting against the wall when Troy popped up, sporting another glass of the mixture. "This one's for you, beautiful," he said with a smirk.

Integra smiled at him and took the glass. "Thanks but I think I've reached my limit." She was slurring slightly but she took a sip. "I think I might get out of here after this. A girl can only have so much fun," she said and giggled madly. Troy's smirk grew wide as he saw the fizzing in Integra's drink, caused by a newly dissolved pill. Integra pulled a face. "This tastes funny. Is this a rum and coke?" Troy shook his head. "Nah, it's a Mickey Finn. Even better."

Alucard's vampire senses were tingling far off. While his young master was being drugged, he was already settling into a blank-eyed stupor.

Integra settled down her drink as she tried to keep her eyelids open. "I don't feel very good." She put a hand to her head. "Dizzy."

"Really?" Troy settled in beside her. "It's probably the strobe. I'll get you to a darker room."

"No," Integra said, rising to stand straight. "Need to get home." She wobbled dangerously and nearly crumbled to the ground before Troy caught her. "Hey, hey, I got ya," he said soothingly. "Don't worry, I'll take care of ya." He gathered her into his arms and made his way across the room.

Integra was spinning. The room, the faces, the lights, were becoming distorted and warped. She felt light-headed and sick, unaware of her surroundings. She blacked out.

She had a dream...

_She was running over the streets of __London__, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Alucard was nearby, running with her. "What are we doing?" she shouted to him. The vampire moved closer to her and called back. "Playing," he responded with a grin. Integra smiled as she flew through the air. "Then come and get me!" _

_Then suddenly the sky turned blood red and she lost the gift of flight. Integra plummeted to the ground with Alucard's angry eyes in her sight. The moon cracked in half as she hit the pavement, breaking every bone in her body. And when the pain had settled, she got up and began moving silently towards Alucard, calling for him._

When Integra regained semi-consciousness, she felt a hand on her thigh.

"She's a good looking girl, huh?" she heard Troy say.

She felt his hand moving ever higher. She whimpered softly and Troy looked up at her face, grin wide. "Awake, are ya?" He leaned in close to her, breathing his smelly alcohol breath on her face. "This is the price you pay for wanting to hang with big kids." Integra tried to turn her face away but the drug had paralyzed her. He grinned. "I'm going to make you into a real woman." His hand snaked up and touched the soft cotton of her panties, the only barrier between the spot no one but she could touch.

_She began moving silently towards Alucard, calling for him._

_Alucard._

"You smell good. Just like a little girl should," he whispered into her ear, a tongue lashed out to flick the skin. Integra shut her eyes and grimaced.

_Alucard._

He rose up and bit Integra softly on the neck, his finger attempting to pierce her.

_Alucard!_

Alucard's eyes opened suddenly and he phased from the room.

"Get. Off," Integra said, pronouncing each syllable through gritted teeth. Troy's grin serve to widen, growing licentious. "Or you'll do what?"

His response was the sharp feeling of nails digging into the back of his neck. Without warning, he was lifted into the air, caught by Alucard's strong fist which was proceeding to choke the life out of him.

"This is the price _you_ pay," he said lowly, baring his fangs. Troy began to gasp and wheeze, clawing wildly at the hand around his throat.

"A...card," Integra called lowly.

He looked at her, while calmly clutching his victim in the other hand. "Yes, master?"

_Get me out of here, _she thought, her tongue too heavy to pronounce coherent words.

Alucard gave a last look at Troy who was becoming very blue, whose eyes were rolling into the back of his head and then dropped him. He strode over to the couch Integra had been placed on and gathered her into his arms. The vampire moved for the door and stared in disgust at the crowd of clubbers. He glanced up and spotted a sprinkler. Shifting Integra carefully, he pulled his Casul from his inside pocket and fired once, twice at the sprinkler head. Water erupted over the mass amount of people and more importantly, the speakers and music equipment. The joining of electricity and water caused a spark and, in a few minutes, a growing fire.

_What's going on_, Integra thought vaguely.

"We're getting out of here," Alucard said. "Keep your head into me."

Integra turned her head into the fabric of his stomach, lightly breathed in his scent.

The crowd was steadily growing thin as they raced for the door. Alucard walked calmly towards the exit, no one even daring to bump into him. He hit the sidewalk and glanced back at the burning building then walked on, towards the Hellsing mansion.

The effects of the pill were slowly starting to wear off when Integra spoke. "I really messed up, didn't I?" she said softly.

Alucard shrugged nonchalantly. "You're not the first young woman to get a spiked drink."

"That's just you trying to make me feel better," she said, burying her face in his stomach. "I can't believe I was so stupid."

They walked in silence for before Integra said distantly: "You should get a motorcycle."

"Motor what? You mean one of those two-wheeled things? Why?"

She shrugged. "I'm going to buy one for you. Because you'd look pretty badass. Not to mention we wouldn't have to be walking right now."

"We don't. I was just moving slowly for your comfort."

"Then just get us home already."

"Affirmative." He paused in his step and phased into the mansion, right outside Integra's door. He entered the young Hellsing's room and laid her in the bed, tucking her in tenderly. Integra responded quickly to the familiar feeling of her comfy bed. She took off her glasses, placed them on the tableside, rolled over and hugged the pillow. "Alucard?"

The vampire looked at her, curiously. "Hm?"

"Don't tell Walter," she said seriously.

Alucard smiled. "I won't. Now get some sleep." He moved to leave when she called out again. "Alucard?"

"_What_, Integra?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him, sideways. "Thank you," she said softly.

Alucard rolled his eyes. "No need for such things. Go to sleep now."

"Okay," she agreed and settled her head further into the pillow. Alucard stood outside the door, listening to her breathing and in seconds she was asleep. He shook his head with a smile and vanished...

-

It took next to no time for Integra to fall back into her role as the Hellsing head. She had told Walter the party was dull, boring and she'd come home early. The elderly butler sensed something was amiss but was relieved all the same.

Integra heard about the club fire on the news. The reports say the fire was started by a tall man wearing red and carrying a large gun. Alucard did not appear on camera so they were safe. Troy was mentioned. He'd been hospitalized for smoke inhalation and a crushed trachea, larynx, jugular, something in the throat area. He deserved it, Integra thought with satisfaction.

Rachel, who had seen Integra exiting with Alucard, questioned her about him and Troy's bizarre accident. Integra gave no revelation of Alucard's identity, instead said simply that Troy deserved what he got. Rachel got angry and refused to speak to Integra. Integra took it a step further and had all her classes scrambled and rearranged, making sure to leave her past _acquaintances_ behind.

There were more important things than partying and socializing anyway.

**Done! Was it good? I spent a bit of time on this chapter. The next one may take a little more time than usual but might be a shorter. Not much action, dealing more with emotion. Anyway, don't forget to review! Thanks, over and out. **


	25. New Addition to the Team: Police Girl!

**It's been awhile, huh? I hope everyone got the memo about the chapters gone missing. I'm still gonna continue the story though while working my best and fastest to restore them. Anyway, thanks for those who were patient: **

**Demonic Pickle  
Zizzi Hungarian  
Kantra  
Gale Frost  
BadLuckCat  
MegFallow  
Crow120  
Lord Makura**

-and here is your new chapter! 

**Order 25: New Addition to the Team: Police Girl! **

Time flew as it always did and Integra grew more confident with the woman she was. She was an excellent leader with over two hundred soldiers at her command. The Round Table could no longer keep her out; she was determined to prove her worth. She donned suits and the title 'Sir' and practiced her marksmanship and her fencing endlessly.

Alucard watched all this with amusement. He was, however, somewhat disappointed he could no longer get a quick and visible rise out of Integra when he goaded her, telling her her clothes were mannish and forbidding. She would close her eyes and take a deep breath, ignoring him. When he continued, she would shoot and her aim was deadly now. He would sulk for days after that depending on the accuracy of the shot.

It was 1999 now and Integra was twenty-three years old. She ruled Hellsing with an iron fist and Alucard liked that about her but she was very different now. He didn't foresee any hormone induced confessions of love springing from her anytime soon. He wondered (privately) if she still loved him. He would never dare ask her something like that. His mistress had completely distanced herself, emotionally, from him. They were strictly Master and servant.

In short, Alucard was bored.

He always hated these inevitable periods of boredom. There was truly nothing to do, no strong opponents to fight. He was five hundred and sixty seven, give or take, the oldest living thing on the planet. Nothing could stand up to him in a fight. But such as boredom has the power to spring up, so does something to alleviate such feelings.

The Hellsing organization learned of a fast spreading threat. A new race of vampires was being created. They were not sired by bites but artificially, by microchips. These vampires proved a large scale threat; they did not have morality, humanity, compassion, nothing of that sort. They were called FREAKs.

The Hellsing Organization had been fighting them for a little under a month before a serious threat came, called in from Cheddar Village.

A lone priest arrived at the village's church, a priest of the bizarre sort. In a case presented one week after he showed up, a teenage boy journeying to the neighboring town disappeared. The situation soon became critical. In ten days, ten people vanished, paralyzing the village in fear. That was where Hellsing came in.

Alucard was walking among the village while Integra alerted the police. This case was no under her jurisdiction. Alucard liked her straightforward method. He paused in his step and looked up at the moon. It hung, full and fat, in the sky. It was nights like this that made vampires want to drink blood.

"This is Hellsing here, this is Hellsing here," Alucard heard in his ear. "Report on your situation, Alucard."

He blinked. "Oh, sorry. I was just staring at the moon."

"Stay alert there, Alucard. We're counting on you now."

"I know and yet..." He smiled softly. "It's just so beautiful tonight."

He walked on.

His mind scanned the area. There were police fighting and quickly losing ground. There numbers were swiftly dwindling until pretty soon all he could sense was one lone human in a sea of undead. His eyes were involuntarily drawn to the moon. _It's a splendid night_, he thought idly. _Quiet and filled with mystery._ He had to forcibly focus his mind on the task but the nagging thought that something unexpected might happen tugged at the back of his mind.

He was drawer closer now; the smell of blood and bodies was thick. He could see her now, a lone police girl firing off a couple rounds at the ghouls, to no avail. And there the vampire, dressed up like a priest. What a joke.

He watched the vampire grab the police girl, twisting her arm up and over her head. Alucard paused; he was not yet in their sight. Patiently, he checked the clip of his Casul then replaced the gun. When he heard the police girl scream he decided to show himself. He turned and walked the last few feet to crest the hill, overlooking them.

"That's enough now," he called, calling the priest's attention. "Goddamn punk!"

The priest turned in alarm. "What?"

"Youngsters these days...You disgust me. Look at you, standing there in those priest robes, don't you have any shame?"

The priest bared his fangs. "And who the hell are you?"

Alucard smirked privately. "A hit man."

"A hit man, you say? Are you serious?" the priest chuckled then addressed the crowd of ghouls. "Kill 'im," he said and snapped his fingers. The band of undead producing a large number of guns and all began firing at once. Alucard stood and took the barrage of bullets. His glance flicked over to the police girl who looked horrified. And all at once, they stopped. He probably should have been paying attention because his right arm, vital intestines, and part of his face had been shot away. Nice way to spend the night.

The priest laughed out loud. "Finished already, hit man?"

_Youngsters...How foolish._

It didn't take long for the shadows to start reforming him. In seconds, he was standing again, to the astonishment of the priest and the police girl. "Firing a gun won't do," he said, grinning wickedly. "At least an _ordinary_ gun won't do it." And he drew the Casul, balancing it on his left arm. Now here comes the fun part.

Alucard fired once, twice, thrice, and watched as the ghouls exploded in clouds of ash. He lowered his gun and spun around, eliminating the dead behind him. He whirled in a circle, grinning with the slaughter, and destroyed them all in about half a minute.

"What have you done?" he gasped. "Those bullets..."

"13 millimeter explosive steel rounds alloyed with silver melted down from a Lanchester cathedral cross," he drawled. "No freak can take a hit from one of these and survive."

"But-but why? Why is one of us working with the humans?"

"If I were to let punks like you run around creating problems, I would be in trouble. The destruction of mankind is a distinct possibility when fools who don't know what they're doing are allowed to roam. I can't allow that." He leveled the Casul. "Now, it's your turn."

"Hold it right there!" He moved swiftly to the police girl who was knelt on the floor. Alucard's eyes narrowed. He put off her foolishness at not running as merely shock. "She's the only survivor," the priest continued. "Don't you want to save her? I'm not asking much. Just let me go! Pretend you didn't see anything!"

Only true trash will take a hostage. Alucard ignored the vampire for the moment, settled his eyes on the woman. She was a pretty blonde girl with blue eyes and she looked scared out of her mind. He grinned. "Hey girl, are you a virgin?"

She blushed fiercely.

"What the hell are you talking about?" the vampire shouted.

"I'm asking if you're a virgin."

"Ah..um..." she stuttered, nervously.

"Goddamn it, answer me!"

"Yes! I am!"

He pulled the trigger.

A huge bullet hole appeared on the front of the police girl's uniform. Blood spurted from her mouth and exploded out the back of the priest. He released his grip and the policewoman fell forward. Alucard phased between them, drawing his hand back. He grinned and thrust his hand through the vampire's chest.

"Scum," he growled lowly.

The priest vanished on the trail of a scream.

Alucard released a breath, shaking off his hand. He then turned his attention to the police girl. Blood was quickly spreading over her torso. She looked frail and broken.

"I shot through your lung to hit his heart," he explained. "Sorry, this gun makes rather large bullets. You won't last long. So?" He grinned faintly. "Do you want to come with me?"

Tears started in his eyes. Alucard entered her mind, hesitantly. She was remembering a murder; her parents were killed by vampires. He looked at her, sympathetically then with surprise as she managed to raise her hand, stretching it almost to the sky. Her arm began to fall and he caught it, her hand resting in his. And she nodded weakly.

Alucard grinned. "Tonight...is truly a splendid night."

When Alucard returned to the police site, Integra greeted him with a smile. "Excellent, Alucard. What was the outcome?"

Alucard shrugged. "I destroyed the priest. No survivors."

She cast a quizzical look to the woman he was carrying in his arms. "Isn't she a survivor?"

Alucard grinned. "No, she's dead."

"Then why are you carrying around a corpse?" Integra asked, still not getting it.

Alucard laughed. "Okay, she's not exactly dead. More like undead."

Integra blinked. "WHAT?"

-

Integra and Alucard returned to the Hellsing Manor together. Walter met them at the door. "How did it go?" he asked pleasantly.

"A joyous and rewarding night," Integra spat. "Except for the lack of joy or rewards!"

"On the contrary," Alucard said. "I had a lot of fun. Walter," he said, looking to him. "Can you prepare a room in the lower levels for the police girl?" He handed her over. "She's not heavy so don't worry about your old bones."

Walter took the girl into his arms in surprise. "Who is she?"

Alucard grinned. "Her name is Seras Victoria. And she's my new fledgling."

"Alucard," Integra snapped. "My office - now!"

"I'll get there before you," he said smartly and phased away to reappear in her office.

Integra pushed the door open and it slammed against the door, loudly. Alucard winced at his place leaning against her desk. "Integra if you're angry, you're free to beat me up anytime you like."

"You stupid vampire," she said angrily. "What the hell were you thinking? How could you do something like this without my consultation first?"

"Oh, forgive me for not asking permission from my _master_," he said sarcastically, crossing his arms.

"That's how things work, _servant_," she said firmly. "You're acting like a petulant child."

Alucard grinned. "Maybe so. I won't be petulant anymore, though. I have a new pet to placate me," he said then vanished.

He reappeared at the police girl's side seconds after she'd woken up and feverishly checked her chest for the bullet wound. She shrieked wildly at the sight of him. Alucard bared all his teeth in a grin. It had been a long time since a sudden reappearance into a room could cause a scream. He decided he liked the sound.

"Where am I?" Seras demanded. "Who are you?"

"How about a thank you?" Alucard countered. "If it weren't for me, you'd be dead now. Well, more dead than you are."

"What?" She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I'm dead?"

"Technically speaking," Integra said as she entered the room, followed by Walter. "As for where you are, this is the Hellsing Headquarters, lair to monsters who hunt monsters."

"Monsters who...?" she asked but Integra continued.

"Naturally, you will work as one of us." As she spoke, Walter moved forward and held out a bundle of clothes, a yellow uniform with the Hellsing insignia on them. There have been a rising of incidents involving vampires. Destroy the vampires, police girl. That is your duty." She turned her attention to Alucard, her anger at him apparently having dissipated. "Prep her quickly. We're moving out." And she turned away and left the room, taking Walter with her.

Seras looked up at Alucard. "I don't understand," she said softly.

"You will," he replied confidently. "Once you get used to being a Draculina."

"D-Draculina?" She pulled a mirror from virtually nowhere and held it up to her face. She gave a half grin and looked at her own fangs. "You mean I'm a-a..."

"A vampire, yes. You'll understand soon enough but for now, get dressed. We have a mission."

"But-"

"Do it."

She blinked and swallowed the many questions that were threatening to burst from her. She sighed softly and pushed away the sheets on the bed. Alucard turned to wait outside, allowing her her privacy.

When Seras was finished dressing, she opened the door and stepped shyly out. She seemed to be fighting a losing battle with her skirt which she didn't find to be the proper length. "This is embarrassing," she said softly, with a blush on her face. "I'm still a police officer, right? How can I chase down criminals wearing this?"

Alucard smiled. "As a vampire, it doesn't really matter what you're wearing, police girl."

She looked up at him. "So who are you? I mean, what's your name?"

He looked at her with a small smile. "It's Alucard."

"Alucard," she repeated with a nod. "Okay, then Alucard, I'd appreciate it if you stopped calling me 'police girl'. I have a name after all. It's Seras Victoria."

Alucard grinned at her. "I'll consider it." He started walking. "Let's go, Police Girl."

Seras pouted faintly but his undeniable will caused her to follow.

-

The mission was a routine extermination of a couple of filth vampires. Alucard never seemed to tire of destroying them. This one was no different: vampires killing violently, scrawling messages in the victim's blood, targeting families of strong Christian beliefs. Alucard was ready.

"You're my back-up," he instructed Seras. "You'll keep an eye out on the roof and if one of them gets free, it's up to you to stop it. Don't fail, Police Girl." She'd nodded hesitantly and took her place.

Alucard walked up to the front door. He could hear them talking inside, idiotic chatter about eternal life and getting stronger. Foolish youngsters.

The male, a young vampire boy named Leif, noticed the change in the air and walked to where he could see the front door. Alucard saw him clearly through his mind's eye and brought out the Casul. He saw Leif tense then fired innumerable shots. Leif went down hard and Alucard busted apart the door.

The other vampire leveled his own gun, an Uzi, and fired a number of shots that weren't doing anything to Alucard. He quickly ran out of bullets. Alucard shook his head. "You can't turn into bats or mist. You can't even heal the wounds you've taken. And you call yourself Midians? How disgraceful!" He started towards the boy.

Leif freaked, rising to his feet and ran into the other room making a mad dash for freedom. Alucard chased him down and fired another unstoppable barrage. The repeated kick of the Casul in his hand got his blood flowing and he smiled as the other vampire disappeared into dust. He looked over his shoulder, saw the open window where the female had disappeared.

"Don't let her escape, Police Girl," he called out to his fledgling on the roof, starting for the door.

Seras snapped to attention. "Right!" She hesitated though, staring out into the darkness.

"What's the matter? Hurry up."

"She's so fast," Seras said softly. "About five hundred...now six hundred meters away."

"Aim as though you had another eye in your forehead," Alucard instructed. "If you shoot like a human, you will miss like a human."

"But..."

"It will definitely hit," he called, stepping out into the night air, once more. "Aim for the heart and take her out in one shot."

"But without a scope? And in this darkness?" she asked, still doubtful.

Alucard levitated to her level on the roof. "Those are human problems. And you are no longer human."

Seras blinked and her eyes began to glow. She brought up her gun, aimed carefully and fired. Alucard watched as, some seven hundred meters away, the target vampire fell and did not get up, a bullet through her chest. He whistled lowly. "Well done, Police Girl."

Seras was shocked. "Such a big gun," she spoke softly to herself. "And I didn't even feel a recoil. It's nighttime and I saw as clear as day." She lowered the gun. "What in God's name is happening to me?" She placed the gun in her lap and looked up at the sky.

Alucard grinned and allowed her the moment to herself. She'd soon fully understand what it meant to be a vampire.

**Okay next chapter has Alucard and Anderson's first meeting and me skimming through the rest of the events. Doesn't make much sense to retail the entire anime or manga, does it? Chapter 27 is the beginning of the end where I introduce a new plot line and some fun new characters. YAY.**


	26. Love Is In The Air :NOT!:

**Okay, I've decided to proceed with the story; it's taking much to long to restore the lost chapters. I'm sure I probably don't have any fans left but I owe it to myself to finish this project of mine. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, oh so long ago.**

**Let's get this motor running again, okay? **

**Order 26: Love Is In The Air (NOT)**

Seras was a troublesome vampire from the start. She refused to drink her blood and in the process she grew weak. She clung to the frail humanity that Alucard had stolen from her. He pitied her, knowing she hadn't known what she was in for and was regretting her choice. But despite her foolishness, despite her weakness, she made Alucard happy. Even if she didn't know it.

His first fledgling in over three centuries, Seras proved endless fun for him. Phasing into rooms had long since gotten old with Integra. To get a shrieky reaction from Seras was much too fun to pass up.

But his Police Girl showed promise. When she did drink her blood, she was vastly strong. It excited him, got under his skin, to see her killing, massacring ghouls. It was enough to make him forget himself, to get close enough to a woman to...

It was late at night, a few months after Seras joined Hellsing, when she went looking for Alucard, a blood pack in hand. (The longest she ever went without blood was a month before the craving got too large to ignore.) She went to the lowest level, to his room, and knocked on the door tentatively.

"Master?" she called softly and pushed open the door. Alucard was sitting in his chair with a smirk on his face that sent a chill down Seras' back. "Good evening, Police Girl. Did you come to have a drink with me?"

She sweatdropped a bit and walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. "I came because I was bored," she said, nonchalantly and walked towards him. "It's a full moon tonight," she said softly.

"Your point being?" Alucard asked.

She pouted a bit at his rudeness and continued. "You always go on about the moon and I often see you staring at it. I just thought you'd like to know."

Alucard raised an eyebrow. "That's very observant of you, Police Girl. Are you always that watchful of me?"

Seras scoffed. "You're potentially a homicidal maniac. Who's going to watch you except for me?"

"Are you suggesting I need some type of sitter?"

She looked at him curiously then asked softly. "If Sir Integra wasn't around...Where would you be?"

He looked surprised at the question, the mirth ebbing from his face. There was silence for a moment before Alucard responded.

"That's a useless question," he said sternly. "Because Integra _is_ around. And nothing is currently going to change that."

She edged a little closer to him and sat by his legs. She sucked her blood thoughtfully and smiled up at him. "Do you always think so logically?"

"Usually," he said distantly. He was thinking on her previous question...

Slowly, Seras leaned her weight against his leg. "I feel a lot better," she said smartly.

"You should drink your blood more often," he said parentally.

"I know," she answered mechanically and sucked the rest of the blood from the packet. A line of the crimson liquid trailed from the corner of her mouth. Alucard looked down at her, his eyes widening somewhat at the sight. She was inexplicably...cute...and something stirred in the pit of his stomach.

"Turn this way, Seras," he said suddenly.

She blinked, confused. "Master?"

"Do it."

Still looking a bit perplexed, Seras turned over, onto her knees, and rose up to almost his eye level. "What is it?"

His eyes locked on hers briefly then down to her mouth. He leaned forward, caught the sight of her eyes widening, her breath catch, her blood flowed faster, and he licked the blood from her face, just like on the first night they met. Then he leaned back and watched her slowly return to normal. Her right hand rose to her face and her fingers brushed the spot where the blood had been.

"If Integra wasn't around," he said softly. "I'd have you."

"I don't understand," she said, breathlessly.

He chuckled a bit. "Yes you do. Think logically." And he turned away, grabbing his wineglass from tableside. Seras took the time to turn away and hide her blush.

She left soon afterwards only to return exactly one month later. Something that was said must have changed her because from that night on, she drank whatever blood was placed in front of her with no hesitation. She was stronger now and bolder too. After the last confrontation, she came back with a fierce look in her eye. She grinned, leaning against the door frame. "Good evening, Lord of Vampires and all else within!" Her teeth were red with blood.

"You're in a good mood," he said dryly with a raised eyebrow at her sudden appearance.

"There's a full moon out," she said, shutting the door behind her and walking towards him. She stood before him with a hand on her hip. "Don't you want to come out and watch it with me?"

"No," he said and stood up to tower above her. "I'd rather be in the dark with you here, Police Girl."

Seras looked up at him and Alucard could see the thrill passing through her body. She gulped to compose herself and spoke. "Seras. It's Seras Victoria. And if I mean so much to you, you should call me by my name."

"And what gives you the impression-"

"I know," she said, cutting him off. "It's why we're together tonight."

"Seras." It was a warning, to get her to think.

"Alucard," she breathed and rose to her toes, to give him a soft kiss.

He paused for a moment before responding to the kiss. His reaction spurred Seras on and she kissed him fiercely. Alucard slowly brought his arms up and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her in closer.

Seras broke their contact first. She pulled back a little, breathing heavy, and smiled up at him. Alucard saw his world in her smile. It was such a silly, sentimental thing for him to feel but he couldn't help it. He brought her close and made her his...

A week later she was gone...

-

Alucard hadn't known what to think. It was so random; one day Seras was there and the next she wasn't, like some damn apparition. He had to hear from Walter that she was currently gone and no one knew where the hell she went. At first, he thought she was simply taking a break from her Hellsing life and was unconcerned. But when the days turned to week, he got worried. For about a microsecond. When the realization that she was truly gone sunk in, he got angry.

He'd felt so betrayed. He dogged the streets of London, trying to find some kind of lead as to where she'd gone but Seras had obviously not wanted to be found. No amount of mental power could locate her either. He burned with anger. And with loneliness. He hated his foolishness, his weakness. He'd allowed her to get close enough to affect him... It was a stupid mistake he'd come to regret.

He always expected her to come back, eventually. But after two years passing, he was a depressed mess. He barely left his room unless Integra prodded and commanded and even then he did so begrudgingly. After the third year, he sort of got used to the idea that Seras would not return. He did not expect on the fourth year for a small, dark-haired child to appear at Hellsing's gates in her place.

He was dozing in his room. Hot days like this, he liked to sleep later. He was contemplating asking Walter for a new gun when suddenly, he smelled a familiar scent. He thought it was Seras' and phased up stairs immediately.

He was met instead with a grinning little girl that claimed to be his daughter. It was a shock to say the least. But he inspected her, listened to her speak, and there was no doubt that she was his offspring. His lovely little Katherine. She was a stoic little thing, his child. A curious enigma, she never said more than she felt.

And Alucard loved her like no other.

Once when Katherine was still new to Hellsing, she took Alucard's Jackal for a bit of target practice. Alucard watched with interest as she snuck out into the shooting range. It was amusing to watch Katherine's little body try to level the hand-cannon. She pulled it to about chest height before he intervened.

"You need to aim higher," he advised, startling her a little but she quickly covered it up.

"You'll never hit your target from that height," he continued.

Katherine's eyes narrowed at him then she turned back to the target and raised the gun even higher, until it was almost completely level with her face. She used both hands to bring up the gun and concentrated on the target, the bull's-eye.

"Is the recoil going to hit me in the face?" she asked.

"It might," Alucard chuckled. "You'll just have to find out."

She rolled her eyes and focused on the bull's-eye. She counted slowly to three and fired the gun.

The force of the bullet caused the gun to jerk back violently. Katherine took a large step back to hold herself up. When she looked for the target, all she could see was white. It took a moment, and an unfocusing of the eyes, for her to realize what it was. Alucard's glove. He'd caught the gun to keep it from hitting her in the face.

She looked up at him, curiously as he gave a wide grin. Katherine, herself, gave an equal (and somewhat uncharacteristic) grin.

-

Time passed, Seras returned, Katherine got older. In the midst of all the vampires lives, the Round Table turned its attention on Integra. The elder men insisted that they could no longer ignore Integra's lack of a husband and interest in having one. Over the course of several months, they paraded men in front of her, all of whom Integra shot down, until exasperation took hold and they decided a husband for her, despite her protests.

His name was Christopher Lee Baker, and he was just as upset with the marriage as Integra but unlike her, he maintained a civil attitude towards his fiancée because he thought it was his duty to do so. Integra, on the other hand, snarled when he came near and did everything humanly possible to drive him away. Still, he stayed, clinging steadfast to his obligation and duty.

Alucard found her one night, drowning her sorrows in a glass of brandy.

Normally, he would be amused to see such a sight but tonight he was not. She was slumped over at her desk, her hair in tangles, the glass clutched tightly in her fist. She did not look up as he phased through the wall but Integra knew he was there.

"It's late," he said softly.

"I know," came her reply.

The ice in the glass clinked together as she brought it to her lips. Alucard was equally unhappy with the situation. He had Seras but to see his Master sold off to a man who didn't deserve her was worse than anything he could imagine. He made his displeasure clear by dogging Integra and Christopher Lee whenever the latter came for a visit.

Alucard crossed the office as Integra prepared for another sip. His hand covered hers on the glass and he snatched it away from her. Her eyes widened in surprise then settled to what was becoming her usual, half-lidded look of disinterest. "Integra, let me put you to bed," he said, crossing behind the desk. There was a flash in his eyes and instantly Alucard knew why.

You do not offer Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing help because Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing does not need help. Ever.

Integra rose to her feet (with just the slight show of a wobble) and raised her chin proudly. She gave Alucard a sardonic smirk. "You must think I'm pathetic Alucard," she said lowly. "Taking orders from a bunch of wrinkled old suits, marrying a man whom I barely know. I imagine you find this all very funny."

Alucard was surprised then his expression melted to one of frustration. "Integra, I'm a five hundred year old vampire coerced into servitude. Who am I to call you pathetic?"

She nodded, more to herself than him. "That's right. Who are you to…"

She trailed off as she pushed the door to the office open and headed for her own bedroom.

"And you're wrong," he added, following after her. "I don't think one bit of this is funny."

She snorted, swaying on her feet, before opening the door to her room. "I'm to be wed in two weeks time," she said lowly and then started to laugh. "It's hilarious!" Alucard watched quietly as Integra moved to the bed and began taking her shoes off, all the while going into hysterics.

"You've had too much to drink," Alucard said as she crawled into bed and hugged the pillow to her.

"What of it?" she asked calmly now. "I'm just celebrating the end of freedom." She sighed heavily and turned over to look at him. "Alucard, I wouldn't _truly_ mind marrying Christopher Lee if I didn't know the Table's true intent. They want an heir, that's all this marriage means to them." She grew silent for the moment then spoke quietly. "Christopher Lee will get to be my husband, my child's father. You must be jealous."

Alucard was ruffled. "Are you still working under the notion that I love you?"

She smiled. "Yes because it's true. Watch." She cleared her throat. "Christopher is going to take my _virginity_."

It got the desired result. Alucard's eyes narrowed and his teeth bared for a second before he realized what she was doing. Then he grinned. "You are crafty, Integra."

Her arms extended out to him. "Lie with me, Alucard. Your master commands it."

His eyes locked with her a moment before he removed his hat and coat and climbed into bed beside her. Integra turned to him as he lay, wrapping her arms around him, in a display Alucard had thought was impossible for her, drunk or otherwise. Then she rested her face on his chest, listening for a heartbeat that wasn't there. 

"I'm like you Alucard," she said sleepily. "They've cut my wings to make me tame, too."

Alucard listened then sighed, bringing her in closed. "You'll never be tame. Be quiet now and go to sleep."

Her breathing slowed during the night and they slept eventually…

-

Integra's wedding was a dismal affair.

A light rain sprinkled over the assembled party and Integra was reminded forcefully of her father's funeral. She remembered watching the undertakers lower his coffin into the grave and now it was like watching the same happen to her.

Someone had caught wind of her plan to approach the altar in a black suit and squashed it. She'd wear a traditional wedding gown.

With no one to give her away, Integra approached the altar and her waiting groom alone.

Up front, sat a representative of the Round Table, a scrawny little accountant-type man named Riddley. Integra was grateful at least that the Round Table members themselves hadn't bothered to show up. That would make this a little less painful.

In the back, Seras and Katherine sat sullenly. Katherine had offered to be the flower girl for the occasion, Seras to be Integra's maid of honor. Both were refused. Alucard was not present.

Integra reached the altar and Christopher Lee took her hand. In his mind, this was all procedure, one that would not disrupt his regular life. Neither had any desire to wed the other.

"This isn't right," Katherine whispered lowly from her spot. "Brides should be happy on their wedding day and Integra looks like she wants to die." The teenage vampire often butted heads with Integra but this was not deserved by even her.

Seras was silent. After all, what could they do?

Integra stood next to Christopher Lee at the altar and listened to the priest give his sermon, her mind wandering. But she snapped to at his next words.

"If anyone has a reason that these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

"Would it be uncommon for the bride to respond at this time?" Alucard's voice rang over those seated.

Seras' head turned as Alucard phased into view. "Master…!"

Katherine looked to the front where she saw the slightest of smiles turn Integra's lips up.

Alucard began walking slowly up the aisle. "How about the reason that neither bride nor groom cares one iota for the other? Or that their marriage is a sham simply to produce another leader who'll be manipulated and used as a puppet?"

"Integra!" Riddley, the Round Table's representative, stood, his face red. "Call him off at once!"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I think he has something that needs to be heard."

Alucard grinned maniacally as he approached. Christopher Lee took a nervous little step backwards.

"This is no holy union!" Alucard continued. "This is a lie that all those present do not wish to address. Even you, _Father_," he said mockingly to the priest conducting the ceremony.

"Young man," he said, standing in front of Christopher Lee. "Why do you continue with this charade?"

"It's required of me," Christopher Lee said, raising his chin up. "The Round Table has requested me to be Integra's husband and father her child. And I intend to."

Alucard spit furiously on the ground. "You disgusting little pawn. You don't deserve her!" he said and reached out, grasping the front of Christopher Lee's tuxedo.

"Alucard," Integra said quietly.

The vampire stopped, his expression softened as he turned his eyes on Integra. It was the first time he saw her in her wedding dress and she was just as beautiful wearing it than in any of her suits, if not more so.

"Yes, Master?" he said, respectfully.

"You've done enough," she said.

He blinked. Sighing sadly, he released Christopher Lee and nodded. "As you wish."

"Thank you," she said to him and she put every ounce of feeling she could into those two words. Alucard heard it and understood. It was out of his hands now.

"Do you, Christopher Lee Baker, take Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, through sickness and health, for richer or poorer?"

"I do," he said.

"Do you, Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing-"

"I do," she said, cutting him off.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Alucard turned away, moving to the back of the procession. "Let's go," he said to Seras and Katherine. He could not watch Integra kiss another man, no matter how brief and muted it was.

The man was now Christopher Lee Hellsing and no matter how much Alucard disliked him, he was part of the family, there to stay.

**I wanted to make this super long because of the long pause and everything but I also didn't want to overwhelm and jam everything into one chapter which I think I already did. Anyway, I really really really hope I get reviews because I'm anxious to start this one up again. Please read and please review, anyone? Anyone?**


	27. The Last Vestiges

**No time for notes. I probably don't have a reader left by now but never mind that. Onwards. **

**Order 27: The Last Vestiges  
**

Marriage was not the hell Integra had expected. After the ceremony, she and Christopher Lee struck up an agreement. He did not live at Hellsing manor and only stopped by for visits and when it was required of him. They were husband and wife only in documentation.

Integra continued to run Hellsing in her usual iron-fist manner. Christopher Lee never tried to intervene and question the way the organization was commanded. It was something he knew Integra would never allow. The two were civil towards each other during his visits, sometimes even pleasant.

Katherine, fed up with taking orders from higher ups, turned her friends into vampires and left the town. She returned to her childhood home and lived there with Damien and Sam, destroying creatures in the undergrounds. In a year or two, she had created an infamous name for herself. She called and sent letters occasionally, mostly to Seras.

Alucard had been a bit pissed at Katherine's running away and it had taken Seras and Integra to stop him from dragging her back by her hair. After awhile, he understood her decision. In fact, he was quite proud of her.

For once, things at the Hellsing house were peaceful.

Well…not for very long.

Six months after Integra's marriage, the Round Council conferred again and expressed their need for an heir. Integra grew enraged.

"I'm thirty-four bloody years old! I am not soon to drop dead of old age!"

"Integra!" One of the Round Table members scolded. "Hold your tongue."

"I will not," she responded, angrily. "_I _am the leader of Hellsing. And I will decide what is to be done with _my_ body." And on that note, she stalked from the room.

She had gone a few feet from the room when Alucard suddenly appeared behind her. "I never thought I'd see you go against the Council's wishes."

Fuming, Integra said nothing.

"You know, I'm sure your _husband_ is still waiting to consummate his marriage. How selfish of you to deny him," he taunted.

Integra stopped in her tracks, her fists clenching. She bit her lower lip distractedly. "Damn it," she cursed under her breath. The whole situation was deeply frustrating for her.

Alucard sensed his master's discomfort and grew silent.

Later that night, Integra was feeling particularly trapped when a blessed distraction came in the form of a sudden vampire outbreak. The Hellsing head couldn't have been happier, despite the threat to the peace she had worked hard to create.

These last little dregs of vampires were expected but three vampire attacks in one day was unsettling enough to get the Round Table off her back long enough for Integra to devise a plan.

Alucard and Seras were happy for the distraction as well. Their relationship had bloomed immensely, since that dark night in Alucard's room. To the vampire couple's surprise, Integra had volunteered to accompany them. The three set out on their mission at sundown.

Their destination was not too far away from the Hellsing mansion. The attack was on a hospital; intel suggested there were at least four vampires inside. Flanked by Seras and Alucard, Integra walked fearlessly to the front door of the hospital, pushing it open easily.

Seras gasped. An overhead light flickered on and off, illuminating the corpse of a receptionist, slumped over the front desk. The white floors of the hospital were stained red.

Integra frowned. "Alucard, start from the top floor and work your way down. Destroy any vampire or ghoul that should cross you. Seras, you will start from the basement."

"Yes sir," both vampires said and phased out of sight. Integra checked the clip of her gun and strode through the ocean of blood.

As Seras got to the bottom floor, her senses immediately picked up on a large number of _living_ humans and one vampiric being. She crept stealthily to where the smell was highly concentrated. It was a storage room used to hold old equipment. Seras placed her hands lightly on the door and closed her eyes, looking with her third eye.

There were twenty people inside, huddled in a corner in fear. A short, female vampire with blonde hair, paced restlessly in the center of the room, an Uzi in hand.

"What a waste of time," she muttered and Seras heard a strange accent to her voice. She must have been American. "I could just waste everyone here." The woman turned her eyes to the people in the corner who immediately flinched under her scrutiny. Seras noticed each of the people showed signs of injury: casts, crutches, two people even had IVs in their arm. She thought it was curious.

The vampire began to survey the patients with dislike. "You humans are disgusting," she spat. "How easy it would be to wipe you from the planet." A grin lit her face. "How inevitable that will be."

Seras' attention was drawn suddenly to a teenage girl with a cast on her left arm. She had long dark hair and dark eyes. She reminded Seras of Katherine. But why her attention was drawn to the teenager was because she had shifted surreptitiously, tensing her muscles to strike.

As the vampire turned, putting the girl in her blind spot, she leapt up, cocking her broken hand back to deliver a blow with her hardened cast. The vampire woman took the hit in the face and immediately brought up her gun. It was then Seras chose to burst through the door, pushing the teen out of the way. With a shift, Seras managed to avoid serious injury, instead taking the bullet to her shoulder.

But she had grown strong in the last years. As the bullet exited through her back, Seras' wound immediately began to heal. In response, Seras raised her gun and fired into the vampire woman's chest.

The other fell back, coughing up blood. "You bitch," she growled, glaring up at Seras.

"Who are you?" Seras demanded, looking down at her.

She laughed. "You can call me Amy, baby doll."

Seras rolled her eyes, keeping her gun steady. "Why are you doing this? Who sent you?"

Amy laughed lowly, struggling to rise to her feet. "You think I'm going to tell you that? All you need to know is that Hellsing's peace will not last." And with that, she launched herself at Seras, mouth bared wide.

Seras was much faster than her though. She fired three shots, right to the head and Amy went down for good.

Seras sighed and looked towards the frightened patients. "Okay, everyone come with me. I'm going to get you out of here."

Alucard was working his way through a hallway full of ghouls. They went down easily enough but he detected three vampires on the lower levels, closer to where Integra was. He had to get down there and protect her quickly.

Sir Integra strode carefully through the hallways, stepping over the blood and bodies with disdain. An open door to her right drew her attention. Pausing in her step, she peered into the room, her eyes narrowed.

"Good evening, Madam Hellsing," a male said in an accent Integra didn't recognize.

Integra leveled her gun and quickly fired off a shot at the vampire. The creature quickly moved dodged out of the way, ending up right in front of Integra. He grasped Integra's wrist and pulled her into the room. With her free hand, Integra moved to withdraw the other gun at her belt but two shadows fell behind her, restraining her arms.

"You're a lovely young woman," the male vampire said with a smile. "It's a pity what will happen."

Integra glared hatefully at him. "I suggest you worry more about what's going to happen to you, you filth. Alucard!"

The No-Life King materialized immediately. His hand clenched around the first male vampire's throat and flung him aside. The vampire's head banged hard against the wall. Integra freed her hand and put a bullet through the throat of one of the vampires holding her. He went down hard.

The remaining two vampires leapt on Alucard, slashing and biting with killing intent. Alucard's Jackal came up in his right hand and he fired once, disintegrating a vampire with ease. He aimed for the second one but that vampire was killed by Integra who had regained her composure.

A grin had almost come on Alucard's face when he noticed quick movement behind her. The first vampire Integra had shot, wasn't quite dead yet. "Integ-!" Panicked, her name died on his voice. The vampire's hand had forced its way through Integra's stomach.

With blinding speed, Alucard lunged forward and thrust his arm through the last vampire's chest, killing him instantly. He caught Integra before she hit the floor. The head of Hellsing grit her teeth in pain. "Damn it all to hell," she growled under her breath.

"No more talking," Alucard ordered. He lifted her into his arms and quickly headed upstairs. "Seras!" he shouted.

"No need to shout, Master," Seras replied softly. She was by the front door, talking on a cell phone when she saw Alucard and Integra. She gasped. "What happened to Sir Integra?"

"We have to get her to a hospital," Alucard said hurriedly.

"But…we're in a hospital," Seras said, confused.

"Not this one, you idiot!" he shouted, baring his fangs at her. "I was thinking one whose staff hasn't been massacred!"

Seras gulped nervously. "I called them awhile ago. They should be here in minutes."

Certainly enough within five minutes, several ambulances and police cars pulled up before the hospital. Within another twenty minutes, Integra was carted to a hospital. Alucard sat stoically, his hat pulled low to hide his eyes while Seras fidgeted nervously next to him. She knew her master had faith in _his_ master's strength. She also knew he was worried.

They were there for several hours with Seras leaving every now and then to call Walter and inform him of Integra's condition.

Nine hours later, a doctor came out and informed them that Integra was now out of danger of death. She was currently recuperating and they could go in and see her. Seras hung by the door while Alucard sat at Integra's bedside. He heaved a low sigh, watching her. He remembered seeing her like this - on the brink of death – before. It never changed: the fear he felt seeing her like this but he would never tell anyone that.

His attention perked as he watched her squirm. "Alucard…?" she said lowly.

"It never fails to amaze me," he said, his attitude returning at once. "How often you touch hands with death."

She smiled softly. "I had a strange dream," she said quietly.

"What was it?" he asked with interest.

"I can't remember," she admitted. A pause. "My stomach hurts," Integra muttered.

"Not too surprising," Alucard said with faint amusement.

She looked up and the usual hardness in her blue eyes was gone. She looked like a beautiful young woman, injured and frail. It was unnerving for Alucard to see his Master like that.

"Alucard," she said softly. "I'm glad you're here."

He blinked. "Where else would I be?" he asked.

She smiled at him, a genuine smile, like she was actually happy to see him. It was so peculiar.

A knock on the door. Seras poked her head inside. "Master, there's-" Her eyes lit up when she saw Integra. "Oh, you're awake! I'm glad to see you, Sir."

Integra smiled softly. "Likewise, Victoria."

"There's someone here to see you," Seras said with hesitation in her voice. She pushed the door open further and Sir Penwood of the Round Table Organization stepped in. Alucard noted the iciness with which Integra was staring at him.

"Alucard," Integra said dangerously. "Leave."

Alucard straightened up and moved for the door. He stopped to eye Sir Penwood. "Integra is still in bad condition but I don't have to tell you that. It would not be wise to upset her now," he advised before stepping out of the door and bringing Seras with him.

The two vampires listened on the other side of the door.

Penwood occupied the chair next to Integra's bed. "I was sorry to hear you had been injured, Integra. The whole Round Table was."

Integra made a soft noise of agreement.

"I regret to have to say this but…this is exactly what we've been talking about. God forbid, you had died tonight, Integra. This is why you need to have a child, something to ensure the Hellsing Organization is carried on."

"Don't interject," he continued when he saw Integra's rage come to surface. "You know I'm right."

A silence fell in the room. Slowly, Integra calmed down and listened. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Alucard couldn't _always_ be there to protect her and she very easily could have been killed.

Finally, Integra gave a heavy sigh.

"I…understand," she said lowly.

A look of relief crossed Penwood's face. "Good, very good. Your cooperation will only yield positive results." He stood up. "We'll send Christopher Lee around in a couple of days."

Integra sighed. "Fine."

Outside, Seras looked shocked. "They're actually going to make Integra sleep with that man?" she said in a hushed whisper. "I've never even seen them do anything more intimate than shake hands!"

Alucard was not listening. He was too concerned with the situation. Integra couldn't hold them off any longer; she had given up.

He sighed, pushing himself up off from the wall. "I'll be back," he muttered lowly and walked off.

-

Integra was released from the hospital a week later. She was greeted at the Hellsing Mansion by Christopher Lee who, strangely enough, looked relieved that she was okay. She spared him her usual sarcasm and biting remarks and was civil. Together they retired to her office, to converse. Alucard watched from the shadows.

Integra explained to Christopher Lee the decision she'd came to. He looked surprised but willing. She also explained that because of her injury, their night together would have to be postponed, at least a month. He was agreeable.

Alucard was annoyed. To think that his Integra would lay to bed with that weak, insignificant, excuse for a husband. It made him furious. He spent his nights resting moodily in his room with Seras looking on nervously.

About three weeks after Integra's hospital release, Integra called Alucard into her office around 10 pm. The moon was hidden making the sky dark. Integra was resting comfortably in her chair when Alucard phased through the floor.

"You requested me, Master?" he asked, his voice deep.

"Yes," she said easily, her cigar hanging from the corner of her mouth. "You no doubt have heard of my recent decisions."

"I'd have to be living under a rock to miss it," he muttered angrily.

"Yes, yes," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "You've no need to be angry because I have a request, something I'm sure will make you very happy."

His anger faded and his eyebrow rose in curiosity. "And what might that be?"

"I've tried to put this thing off as long as I could but my time's run out. Really, I never found the idea of a child so detestable. It's just the-"she grimaced slightly. "The intimacies people share with one another…I never pictured myself doing those kinds of things with anyone."

"Is there a point to all this?" Alucard asked, not unkindly.

"I was getting to it," she said, annoyed. "I've gotten used to the idea of Christopher Lee fathering my child." She paused (for dramatic effect no doubt). "But I don't want him to be my first."

Alucard's eyebrows nearly flew off his face. "What…_exactly_ are you saying, Integra?"

"Do I need it spelled out for you, Alucard? I want…you," she said quietly.

It took a few seconds for the statement to sink in before a smile crossed Alucard's face. "Really? Well, this is surprising to say the least. Very much so. Could it be possible?"

Integra watched him impassively through her eyeglasses. "So what do you say, Alucard?"

He held up a hand. "Could you allow me a bit more time to gloat?"

"No," she responded quickly. "You have twenty seconds to answer me before my offer is withdrawn."

And so master and monster stared into each other's eyes. Alucard saw the girl he watched grow up, the descendant of his greatest enemy, the object of his obsession for many years. Integra saw the man she regarded as a pet, a pest, the oldest living creature on the earth, and her protector. Alucard allowed eighteen seconds to pass before responded.

"I accept," he said simply.

"Good." Integra rose briskly to her feet. "In half an hour, I want you upstairs, top floor in the room on the end."

Alucard sighed softly. Someone had to tell Integra that all things, especially sex, couldn't be treated as business ventures. But he complied. He bowed low. "I look forward to it, my Master."

"Go," she commanded and Alucard vanished.

Alucard paced excitedly in his room. Seras was fast asleep in her coffin; she had been worn out from a previous mission. He cast several glances at her. Monogamy did not hold the same standing with vampires as it did with mortals. He knew he could sleep with Integra and not tell Seras about it. And who in their right mind would dare turn down Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing?

Thirty minutes to her word, Alucard made his slow way upstairs. He had discarded his hat and coat for this particular evening. Pausing outside the door, Alucard took a deep breath and entered the room.

It was not a very large room but then he assumed they probably didn't need one for what they were going to do. It was dark with several candles lit throughout the room. And then Alucard's eyes fell on Integra.

She was…godly. She had removed her usual suit for the occasion and was dressed in a dark blue camisole and lace panties. Something inside Alucard sparked painfully. It was as though their agreement hadn't been real until he saw her, dressed to kill. Her cigar was still held, between ungloved fingers though.

"Thought you might not show," she said softly with a smile, not looking his way.

"There was no chance of that happening," he responded quickly.

She was lying on her back, propped up against some pillows, her legs crossed at the knee. He had honestly never seen Integra's legs, unclothed. Her creamy dark skin looked soft and inviting. God, he wanted to jump her right then and there.

"Why so hesitant?" she asked and turned to look his way. "This should be your greatest achievement of the century."

His blood was beginning to flow again and he quickly regained his composure. "Don't flatter yourself, Integra. I've been with hundreds of thousands of women."

"That just makes you a slut now doesn't it?" she replied evenly.

"Rather that then a super uptight virgin but I don't agree with your term."

"Humph," she replied. Reaching over, she stubbed her cigar out in the tableside ashtray. Yawning faintly, she stretched her arms over her head and placed her feet on the floor before walking to Alucard.

"After this night," she breathed lowly. "There will be no going back."

Alucard wrapped his arms around her. "Trust me, Integra, after this, you won't want to go back."

They looked into each other's eyes for a second before Integra allowed him to kiss her. The kiss was slow and passionate before Alucard's nature took over and he pressed harder. Integra, for her credit, was not to be left behind. Her teeth nipped at his lower lip, her tongue explored the inside of his mouth, tracing his sharpened eyeteeth. Momentarily losing control, Alucard turned his head and cut a wound on her tongue. Integra gave a faint gasp and moved to pull away but Alucard would not allow it. Her blood on his tongue…it was the most delicious blood he'd ever tasted. He sucked it down, knowing it wouldn't last.

Integra managed to pull away, gulping a bit nervously. Alucard grinned ferociously. "Are you losing your nerve, my dear?"

In response to his taunt, Integra leaned forward and bit into Alucard's neck aggressively. The vampire gave a sharp intake of breath in surprise. The feel of her teeth on his skin was arousing. "Too bad you lack fangs," he muttered.

Integra kissed the spot where she'd bitten softly. She withdrew and looked into his face curiously, to gauge his reaction.

But Alucard was immersed. His eyes were all over her and soon his hands were to follow. They started at her sides before running down the curves of her hips and trailing over her butt.

"Integra," he said softly, mesmerized.

"Am I just how you thought I'd be?" she whispered.

"Better," he responded.

A soft smile from his master. Integra moved away and reclaimed her seat on the bed. "Those clothes seem to be troubling you," she said with a sly smile. "Why don't you lose them?"

Alucard didn't need telling twice. He began to unbutton his suit jacket and let it fall to the floor. It was the first time Integra had ever seen Alucard's chest; he wore so many clothes all the time, barely any of his skin showed. Now she saw it all, the broad expanse of his chest and shoulders, ivory white in the candlelight. He noticed her scrutiny, smiled arrogantly and flexed.

Integra rolled her eyes slightly. "Come to me Alucard," she said softly.

He was more than happy to obey her. Along the way, he discarded his shoes and climbed into bed with her. Alucard was, obviously, to be on top. Poised above her, Integra made eye contact with his, her thighs squeezing his ribcage erotically. Alucard lowered his head and began planting kisses over her neck and shoulders. Before long, his kisses grew rougher, needier and he began to nip at her skin.

"Be careful," Integra warned. One slip and he might bite her.

But he was not listening again. One of the straps of her camisole had fallen and Alucard was granted greater access to Integra's body. He nosed down the garment and met with her supple cleavage. With a lecherous grin, Alucard stuck out his tongue and flicked her peaked nipple.

Integra responded instantaneously. She gave a large gasp and arched her back up off the bed. This pushed Alucard forward; he wanted to hear her moan. His mouth closed over the hardened bud of flesh and began a brutal attack that left Integra squirming. When he ceased, Integra was left panting.

Alucard almost laughed. He wasn't quite near finished with her. His hand caressed her right thigh then slipped in between her legs. Integra gasped as she felt him nearing her core. He paused to let her experience the moment before he lightly brushed against her slit through the panties. Integra let out a soft, trailing moan, all the encouragement Alucard needed. In seconds, he had discarded the rest of her clothing and was able to lean back and examine her glorious nudity.

Self-conscious, Integra threw an arm over her chest.

Alucard grinned widely. "Don't hide from me, Integra," he said and moved her arm aside. His hands moved over her hot flesh, exciting her, enticing her. She began making little mewling, pleading cries. Alucard marveled in it, never knowing his master could make such a noise.

After several minutes, when he'd had his fun, he poised himself over her. This was the moment of truth. Integra looked up at him, the faintest traces of fear covered by determination. She gave the slightest nod and Alucard plunged in.

-

Later that night, as Integra slept soundlessly beside him, Alucard had a time to think of all that had been done that night.

She was no longer a virgin; she could never be turned now. There was an up and a downside to that in Alucard's mind. The down: Somewhere inside, he had always had fantasies of turning her into a vampire. But the Up: If she was turned then he'd be under her control for all eternity and he definitely didn't want that.

Still, the Vampire King felt a small sense of regret in him. He had bedded Integra and to him, that meant she was now his. But in next to no time, she would be in the arms of another man, trying for a child to replace her. He couldn't do anything to stop that; it was completely out of his hands.

And anyway, he had Seras. And Katherine, even though she was no longer around. They would be his consolation.

He gave a faint sigh looking down at the sleeping Integra. She was so different. He did not have a problem with sleeping with human females, as long as they were worth it of course. All of his past "relationships" had been with remarkable women. And now, Integra was the newest addition to a five hundred year old list.

But he had to smile. This had been Integra's choice after all. She had wanted him to be her first, wanted someone worthy, as well. Well, there was hardly any better choice than him, Alucard thought smugly.

He remained beside her for the hours to come until the morning sun began to tint the sky pink. He had learned from experience that women didn't like to wake up alone if they didn't go to sleep that way but this room was going to be hit directly with the sunlight he so despised. Integra would understand.

Carefully, he removed himself from the bed and began to redress. Before he phased from the room, he knelt beside Integra and allowed himself a tender gesture. He kissed her on the forehead, just as he had many years before when she was but a child. Smiling to himself, he left the room.

-

Alucard could sense that their night together had thawed Integra somewhat. She cast slightly softer eyes on him and did not snap as much. But when he pointed that out, she was quick to become stony again. He was amused that she could be so easily swayed. Seras, for her part, did not seem to notice anything had happened between master and servant. All the same, she didn't need to know. She upset easily as it was.

Christopher Lee materialized and began spending more time in the Hellsing House. Alucard resigned himself, knowing it would be no good to make a fuss. And without his interference, Integra was pregnant within a month.


	28. Secrets and Bad News

**Chapter 28: Secrets and Bad News  
**

Integra's pregnancy went relatively smooth; she wasn't often bed-ridden or sick and if it weren't for the lack of sleep, one might not even know she was pregnant. Alucard guarded her from the shadows becoming even more over-protective then he already was. Christopher Lee became more affectionate and helped Integra in anyway he could. Apparently, he was overjoyed.

Oddly enough, Integra herself appeared very indifferent with the whole ordeal. She took to staying in her room for long periods of time and would only allow Seras' presence. Strangely, the Hellsing head found companionship in the draculina. Integra confessed her fear that she might not make a good mother and Seras constantly dissuaded her concerns. She thought Integra would make a great mother.

All vampire attacks seemed to cease, another strange occurrence. Seras brought it up one day but Integra was not up for cursing a good thing.

"Are you feeling okay?" Seras asked one day. "You don't look very well."

Integra sighed lowly, lowering her chin to the desk and laying an arm over her enlarged stomach. "Just a bit moody," she said lowly. "These bloody mood swings are so troublesome."

"Now who could tell if you're having a mood swing?" Alucard's voice sounded and very soon he penetrated the wall of the darkened room. "You're usually in a volatile state."

"Master," Seras said, rising to her feet. "Don't go upsetting Sir Integra."

Alucard ignored his fledgling for a moment instead focusing on Integra. Integra surveyed Alucard in silence with her eyes narrowed. "IS there something you want, Alucard?" she asked impassively.

"Just to see my Master, of course. It seems you've been hiding from me for the past eight months. I might have forgotten what you looked like!" He strode toward the desk slowly, a smile playing about his lips and stopped short, next to Seras, in front of Integra. He whistled at the sight of Integra's growth. "Whoa, look at that gut!" he said playfully.

Integra snatched up a heavy paperweight and threw it at Alucard. The No-Life King ducked and the paperweight shattered on the floor. With an agitated expression, Integra put her hands on the arms of her chair and attempted to hoist herself up. Seras moved to help her but Alucard beat her to it. He took her hand gently and helped lift her up. Integra accepted the help then shook him off. "Come with me, Seras," she said sternly, heading for the door with Seras hurrying at her side. Offended, Alucard tagged along behind the two women.

It was a little after dusk with the faintest rays of the day still fading. Integra walked the expanse of the Hellsign courtyard, taking in the night air. They walked in silence for several minutes before Integra spoke. "Forgive me for asking this, Seras but...do you remember your mother?"

Seras froze momentarily, taken back by the question. Her eyes softened with sadness. "Well, of course, I do. One never forgets their own mother."

Integra watched her carefully, knowing she was treading on delicate territory. "What was she like?"

Seras released a low breath and a small smile graced her face. "She was a good mother. She liked to laugh with me. Only thing she kind of didn't like was how much of a tomboy I was. She was always trying to put me in dresses and I would always mess them up intentionally." Seras gave a faint laugh, remembering. "She'd always get frustrated with me." Her expression turned somber. "When she died...it was the worst thing in the world for me."

"I never knew my mother," Integra said dryly. "She died shortly after my birth from...complications." She ran a hand through her hair. "I suppose, I'm just having mother-to-be blues. Was it that way for you?"

Seras gave a nervous laugh. "Sure it was. I was all by myself, giving birth to a vampire child. I was scared but I got over it. And I love Katherine with all my heart. She just doesn't come around much because of-," she gestured to Alucard behind them, "-him."

Integra nodded. "You should visit her. Tonight. Besides, I need to have a word in private with Alucard."

Seras blinked and nodded with a smile. "I'll see you later, then," she said to Integra. Casting a look back at Alucard, she sped up and out of sight.

Integra walked on and took a seat on a stone bench located in a thicker garden part of the courtyard. Alucard walked up after she sat and smiled down at her. "That seat can't be too comfortable. Perhaps you'd feel more relaxed in my lap."

Integra rolled her eyes. "You can't talk to me like that. I'm going to be somebody's mother." Integra sighed in exasperation. "Why are you always such a lecher?"

Alucard sat beside her. "It's been my experience that perverts are much more true to their nature."

"So you admit you're a pervert?"

"You go on believing what you want to, Integra. But speaking of perverts: Whose better in bed, me or Christopher Lee?"

"Be quiet," she ordered, hitting him lightly on the arm. "You're so tactless." After a moment of silence, she looked over at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Did you know her? My mother, I mean."

"We never actually got the chance to meet but I saw her. She looked very much like you. Though she was decidedly nice. When did this turn into a parental memory sort of thing?"

Integra shrugged. "I can't really help it. I'm just...worried." Alucard watched her silently. "I'm afraid...that I'll die, just like my mother. And my child will never know me."

"Don't be foolish," Alucard said sternly, causing Integra's eyes to widen. "I've never known you to be afraid of anything. So just because you have a child on the way, doesn't mean you should start now. Pregnancy shouldn't turn you soft, Integra."

A smile came upon Integra's face. "You're right. I don't know what's come over me. Pregnancy does strange things to women." She struggled to her feet. "I need to get it together."

-

Two moths later and Integra was rushed to the hospital on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. Walter awoke Seras who quickly tried to rouse Alucard from his sleep but vampires sleep hard during the day. Walter told her to go ahead and he'd continue trying. Seras rode with Integra in the ambulance, clutching her hand the entire ride. Quickly, she was set up in a private room with doctors tending to her.

"Seras," she said, panting lightly, sweating from her contractions. "Call Walter -ugh!- and tell him to bring me a change of clothes. Call around and get Christopher Lee down here. Actually," she grit her teeth in pain. "If you forget to do that, I won't hold it against you."

"Yes ma'am," Seras said loyally. "But what about my Master?"

Integra smiled through her pain. "He doesn't need calling. He'll come."

The baby faked them all out. It was five hours later when it even appeared. A baby girl weighing six pounds, three ounces. She was crying loudly when she was handed to Integra. Seras ushered the others - Walter, Christopher Lee, and the doctors - out of the room, knowing Integra would want her moment private.

Integra smiled tenderly at her daughter when Alucard phased through the wall.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Integra said, her voice cracking a little.

"Just like her mother," Alucard replied.

Integra's shoulders tensed up. Alucard watched with interest as they bounced up and down with restrained tears.

"Don't look," Integra sobbed, wiping furiously at her eyes, her baby clutched tight to her chest.

Alucard smiled sympathetically. "You can cry, Integra. I would think the situation merits it."

She clenched her teeth and allowed her tears to flow. "Oh, Alucard, she's so_pretty_." Integra took several deep breaths in an attempt to stifle her tears as though that one moment of weakness was quite enough for her. She fanned her face and sniffled.

Alucard gave a short laugh and walked towards the bed. The child had quieted down a bit but was still crying softly, much like Integra. Her skin was lighter and really she looked more like Christopher Lee but Alucard thought she was perfect, just because she'd came out of Integra. The girl settled down, hiccuping occasionally.

"What are you going to name her?" Alucard asked, watching them.

Integra looked down at her daughter with more love than Alucard had ever seen in his master's eyes. "I will name her Miranda."

-

Miranda, from the Latin meaning lovely, lived up to her name. From the age of two, she seemed a very happy baby. Everyone around her grew joyful in her presence and even Integra was enchanted by the lovely child. With her wide blue eyes and dirty blond hair, she was a sight to behold. And it seemed that her favorite people, besides her mother and father, were Seras and Alucard.

At three years old, Miranda could often be seen toddling after Seras wherever she went. Seras was only too happy to babysit and care for the child when Integra was unavailable to. Miranda also gathered Alucard's attention. The girl would often tug at his coattails begging to be lifted. Though he was captivated by her, Alucard tried to keep his distance from the girl. He did like her, the little Hellsing, but she was just the beginning of another generation of servitude for him. He indulged her from time to time, picked her up once. He couldn't remember the last time, if ever, that he'd held such a little child. Miranda affectionately called him Alu-kun.

The Round Table had not been so entranced. Though they had gotten their heir, their expectations were that the child would be a male. As that was not the case, they could do little more than grumble under their breaths.

Integra loved her child like no other. She was only too happy to educate the girl in manners of etiquette and other such things and like her mother, Miranda was home-schooled.

"So what makes a vampire so fearsome, Miranda?" Integra asked, holding the child's small hand.

Miranda scrunched up her little face in concentration then said, "Their strength!"

Integra smiled. "Very good."

"Are Miss Seras and Alu-kun fearsome?" she said childishly, looking up at her mother.

"Very much so," Integra replied. "But they're here to protect this family."

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"That is a story for another day, my dear."

Miranda was very polite, as Integra demanded of her child. She was always spouting 'pleases' and 'thank-you's'. She was really a sweet child. Even Katherine snuck down to the Hellsing Manor to see this offspring of Integra. She could hardly believe it, that the little darling had come from Integra, the Woman of Steel.

"Alu-kun!" Miranda called excitedly, toddling her way down into the dark basement. She took the steps slowly and hopped down the last step with a look of triumph on her face. Then she walked down the dark hallways to the door that led to Alucard and Seras' room. The doorknob was slightly too high for her to reach but after a few jumps, she grabbed it and managed to push the door open.

She strode in and up to Alucard's coffin where she knocked politely. "Alu-kun," she sang softly. "Wakey wakey."

There was some shifting inside and the lid of the coffin creaked open. Alucard sat up, his eyes bleary. Seras slept soundly beside him. He gave a wide-yawn and focused on Miranda.

"What is it, little Hellsing? Don't you know we vampires like to sleep during the day?"

"Why?" she asked, tilting her head.

Alucard yawned again. "I will give you a lesson in our ways but later tonight, dear. I'm too tired."

Miranda brightened excitedly. "Would you like me to sing you a lullaby? That's what my Daddy does for me."

Alucard barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He gave a faint smile and nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

Miranda straightened her back and cleared her throat. Her tiny voice filled the dark room:

"Goodnight, sleep tight.  
No more tears.  
In the morning I'll be here.  
And when we say goodnight,  
Dry your eyes.  
Because we said goodnight,  
And not goodbye.  
We said goodnight  
And not goodbye."

Strangely enough, Alucard was lulled by her soft, babyish voice. He yawned a third time and smiled at her. "Thank you, Miranda."

She nodded with a smile. "Sleep tight, Alu-kun." And she let herself from the room.

Unfortunately, tragedy often strikes at the happiest moments in one's life. Walter passed away, quietly in his sleep. Seras was inconsolable for days and Integra grieved by herself on dark nights. Even Alucard felt the loss of his old friend. It was Miranda who acted as a sort of beacon for the Hellsing household. Though she had been saddened as well by Walter's death, her indelible spirit served as bit of happiness for the rest of them, Integra especially.

Integra took great pride in her daughter. She was always there to teach, to guide and Alucard often caught himself staring at the two of them together, marveling at how his much Integra had grown. Perhaps, she wasn't a little girl anymore.

Christopher Lee, as well, seemed to be a great father. The young man's eyes shone with love whenever he set his gaze on the precious little girl. What had started out as obligation and duty to him had turned into genuine love. Miranda loved her father as well.

The Hellsings seemed to be a very, perfect family.

-

It was around the time of Miranda's seventh birthday when the child began to get sickly. She refused to eat and wasn't sleeping very well. Integra took her to many doctors only to have the same response: Physically, there was nothing wrong with her. Whatever was bothering the girl, it was psychological. But in light of all of Integra's persistent questionings, Miranda insisted there was nothing wrong.

But she kept up her sunny disposition or at least tried. Lately, it had seemed a bit forced. She was hesitant, quieter, as though scared her every action would incur some repurcusion.

She was in the ballroom, practicing her scales on the piano when Seras walked in on her.

"Miranda," she said softly.

The young girl stopped immediately with a flinch then turned to look at Seras, forcing a smile to her face. "Hello, Miss Seras. Would you like to sit with me?"

Seras smiled softly and walked up, sitting beside her on the piano bench. Miranda smiled again and started up her scales again. Seras watched with interest; she had never been able to play an instrument. "You're doing very well," Seras commented.

Miranda smiled brightly. "Thank you. My daddy's been teaching me the waltz as well."

"Well, that's nice," Seras said. "So have you been feeling better?"

Her fingers froze for a split second over the keys before she continued. "I'm quite fine, thank you."

"Miranda, why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" Seras asked gently. "I promise I won't tell Sir Integra."

Miranda stopped her playing and looked up at Seras with her wide blue eyes. "Nothing's bothering me," she said, deadpan.

"Miranda-"

The girl lashed out and slammed the hood of the piano down, nearly catching Seras' fingers in the process. Glaring sullenly, she stood up swiftly and marched from the room.

From there, the young Hellsing's behavior began to decline further. It was such a radical personality change it took everyone by storm. Her well-polished manners were all but forgotten. On most days, she refused to leave her room.

"If you are not up this instant," Integra had threatened her, "I will drag you out by your hair."

Miranda rolled over onto her side, burying her head in the pillow. "I don't want to," she whined, squeezing her eyes shut. "Please don't make me."

Integra sighed raggedly and crossed the room, standing over her daughter. "What in God's name is wrong with you, child?"

Miranda replied with sullen silence.

Integra sat on the bed and extended her hand, patting her daughter's head affectionately. "Miranda, why won't you tell me what's the matter?"

Miranda sighed. "Nothing's wrong, Mother. I'm just tired. I had a rough night. I don't feel like getting up."

"A rough night?" Integra gave a barking laugh. "You're all of eight years old, what would you know about rough nights?"

With a dramatic sigh, Miranda rose up and turned her back on Integra. "You just don't get it."

"Well, that maybe so." Integra rose smartly. "Excuse me if I don't feel the need to indulge you in your pointless depressions. I expect you dressed in the next twenty minutes and ready for your lessons."

Miranda shot a hateful glare at Integra's back.

She was inattentive in her lessons, so much so that Integra simply grew frustrated with her. As she dismissed the girl, Alucard materialized from the shadows.

"I want you to find out what's bothering her," Integra said before he could speak.

"I cannot," Alucard replied simply, causing Integra to turn her eyes on him. "You've taught her how to set up mental blocks, just as you did when you were a child. Normally, I'd be able to overcome the mental prowess of a nine-year-old but she seemed very intent to keep me out."

"What do you think is wrong with her?" Integra asked softly.

"I assume she's just being a typical, moody child. I'd leave it be for now."

Unfortunately, Alucard's advice was not the best. Seven a.m found Integra enjoying the silence of the early morning when a knock sounded on her door.

"Enter," she said impassively.

And in walked Katherine with Miranda in hand. The child was fighting ferociously, tears streaking down her face. Integra's eyes widened in alarm. "_What_ is going on?"

"Well sir," Katherine said, looking down contemplatively at the fighting girl. "Miranda, she...showed up at my house, midnight last night. She ran away."

Integra rose up in disbelief. "Your house is more than a night away. How on earth did she get there?"

Katherine shrugged while Miranda wailed shrilly. "Let me go! Put me down, you dumb bloodsucker!"

Katherine's eyebrow went up in curiosity. She wasn't overly offended though. Integra, however, was livid. "Set her down," she commanded.

The teenage vampire did as told and Integra started towards them. Miranda, seeing the fury in her mother's eyes, tried to hide behind Katherine but Integra gripped her wrist. "Sneaking out of the house, trailing the streets of London, I should beat you black and green!" Miranda began to cry again, burying her face in the leg of Katherine's jeans. Katherine looked down at Miranda than at Integra.

"Integra, I think Miranda would like to go to bed now," she said gently.

But Integra was not to be deterred. She stepped away, pinching the skin between her eyes in aggravation. She took several deep breaths before looking back at her daughter. She pointed her finger, like a judge issuing a sentence.

"You are under house arrest. I don't want you leaving my sight for even an instant, do you understand me?"

She was silent.

"I said, do you understand?" Integra demanded, raising her voice.

Miranda flinched and gave a timid nod.

Integra nodded. "Good. Now sit down," she said, pointing to an empty chair. Miranda scurried across the room and climbed into the chair, drawing her knees to her chest.

"Great mothering skills you've got, Integra," Katherine said dryly.

"I am not in the mood for your attitude right now, Katherine," Integra replied.

"Yes, I imagine you might not be. But as it's seven in the morning, sixty degrees with clear skies, I'm not quite in the mood for much either." She wiped at her eyes, red-rimmed from the sun. "I'm going back to sleep," she muttered.

Integra's eyes softened a little. "Thank you for bringing her back."

Katherine looked at the back of the chair. "Integra, there's a reason that child doesn't want to be here. I would find out why." She turned away, tossing her dark hair. "Give my regards to the 'rents," she said nonchalantly and began walking out.

Integra watched her go then turned to look at Miranda. She crossed the room with confident strides and towered over her daughter. "This ends here. Your bad behavior, your rudeness, stops. Right. Now."

And true to her word, Integra kept a hawk-eye on Miranda at all times. Even when Christopher Lee was around, she rarely left them alone together. She took it a step further and had a cot put in her bedroom, so mother and daughter were always in close proximity of each other.

When Alucard found out, he hadn't thought it would work, thought it would make Miranda even more rebellious. But he'd been wrong. The change was startling. She broke no more rules, she did as she was told, and her sickness happened to all but disappear. No one knew what to attribute it to. And all together, she seemed genuinely happier so no one was about to question a good thing.

It was a year after this decision of Integra's that the head of Hellsing herself began to get sick. And unfortunately for her, it was not a psychological problem. She saw a doctor and got a grim diagnosis: leukemia.


	29. Fare Thee Well

**Wow, I actually do have some readers. That's a big surprise to me. Thanks to those who reviewed!**

**Kantra  
Lord Makura  
VampyreVixen16  
ParanoidSchizo****  
**

**Order 29: Fare Thee Well  
**

When faced with the news of imminent death, human beings have several different reactions. There's the typical five stages of grief -denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance -, some allow themselves to wallow in depression, and still others attempt to complete a list of things before they go. Integra, being of sound mind and iron will, did not succumb to the fear of death. She began writing her will.

Her intention was to leave everything to Miranda. She stayed up into the late hours of the night, trying to finish the document as soon as possible, when Alucard phased in on her.

"It's rather late, don't you think?" he asked softly.

"Go away, Alucard," she responded harshly. "I have work to finish."

"Oh?" He asked with a grin and moved forward. "And just what are you working on?"

Integra hadn't told him. It had been a week since her doctor's appointment and she hadn't told anyone. She had thought Alucard would have been able to tell but since he hadn't, she reasoned the disease was still in its early stages. She coughed weakly.

"Are you _still_ sick? My God, humans are frail."

Integra had to smile. She knew he wouldn't be talking like that if he knew she was dying and she almost considered withholding the information from him. But he was soon to find out and then he'd be on the warpath.

"Yes, I am still sick. And I might still be for some time to come."

In response to Alucard's confused expression, she turned her pen up and pressed the point firmly into the pad of her thumb. Blood slowly rose to the surface of her skin. Alucard smelled ink, blood, and...the faint scent of disease. Faintly alarmed, he crossed the distance between them and grabbed Integra's wrist. Despite her cry of protest, he yanked her into a standing position, bringing the injured digit closer to his nose. He gave a suspicious sniff then closed his mouth around the wound.

"Servant!" Integra barked, jerking her hand away. "Control yourself."

Alucard's eyes were wide as the blood dripped down his throat. "You are..."

"Dying, yes," Integra said impatiently. She sat back down and looked up at Alucard who looked at a loss for words. "Don't look so surprised," Integra said. "People die. That is the way of the world. Did you think it'd be different for me?"

But Alucard barely heard her words. It was strange but perhaps some little part of him had thought that Integra would be around forever. How could he have been so stupid?

"Who else knows?" he heard himself ask.

"No one," came Integra's easy answer.

"You haven't told Miranda?"

Integra rolled her eyes. "Yes, because I know if I were a little girl, I'd want to know my mother was going to die."

Alucard visibly drooped and Integra was surprised to see an actual expression of sadness on his face. "Integra-"

"Be quiet," she said sharply, cutting him off. "This is the way of things. There is no point in getting upset because it will do nothing to change the situation. Everyone's just going to have to get used to the idea of me not being around." She paused and said, in a rare moment of jest, "Death shouldn't make you soft, Alucard."

The No-Life King didn't - couldn't - accept the humor in her statement. "How long do you have?" he asked quietly.

The doctors had said Integra had a mere six months to live but she fought for two long years. It was during the second year that her death could no longer be hidden. Miranda was in a constant state of depression. Her behavior regressed and it looked as though she would follow Integra to the grave. She would often be seen at Integra's side, even when the Hellsing leader said she should spend time with her father. Miranda would adamantly refuse and stay close to her mother.

Christopher Lee seemed broken by the news as well. He constantly tried to spare Miranda from seeing her mother so sickly and frail and oft times could be seen dragging the child from Integra's bedside, kicking and screaming.

Integra spent half her time in bed and the other half with Miranda. She was determined to instruct her young daughter, so that she too would be a great Hellsing leader. Distraught, Miranda would have no part in it.

Alucard phased in on her, sobbing in her room.

"Use the door!" she shouted, buried in her pillow. "Or better yet," she sat up, glaring at him, her face tear-streaked. "Don't come in at all."

Alucard held back a smirk and he crossed the room and sat beside her on her bed. Miranda turned away, putting her back to him. "I'll disregard that as a side-effect of your hysteria," he said lowly.

"Just get out," Mirand moaned pitifully, wiping at her eyes.

"No, I don't think I will," Alucard replied nonchalantly. "Perhaps you should try and pull yourself together, little Hellsing. What kind of leader will you make if you go to pieces at someone's death?"

"Someone? She's my _mother_, you heartless bastard! When she dies, I'll have no one. And as for being a leader, I don't want any part of Hellsing. It can crumble to the ground for all I care!"

Alucard raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten about your father, child?"

Miranda didn't respond. She took several deep breaths and said darkly, "Get out."

"No," Alucard said simply.

She turned on him angrily. "I gave you an order!"

"Ah, but unfortunately, I don't take your orders. Only the leader of Hellsing can command me and as you stated you don't care if this whole place crumbles to the ground."

Miranda stood up in a rage. "I hate you, Alucard," she spat before leaving the room and slamming the door behind her.

Alucard sighed lowly, leaning back on the bed. Miranda did not seem like Master material anyway. He had been thinking that for a long time now but he sincerely hoped that it was her mother's fate that was causing this bad behavior. But some small part of him knew...that the greatness of the Hellsing Organization would die with Integra. It both thrilled and saddened him.

Alucard could be found by Integra's side as well, when Miranda was elsewhere.

"How do you feel?" he asked softly.

"Wonderful," came her dry reply.

The once regal Hellsing head was little more than a talking corpse now. Her blue eyes, once commanding and determined, were now glassy and clouded-over with her approaching death. Her cheeks had sunken and her bones were brittle and fragile. She looked tired and old. She was not long for this world.

He could hear her heartbeat, weak and struggling, inside her chest. It would fail soon. He knew that.

"The Hellsing Organization will end with you," he said suddenly.

Integra listened and shook her head faintly. "No. Miranda will-"

"Will what? Your daughter wants no part of this decaying institution nor is she fit to run it."

Amazingly, Integra gave a weak smile. "You should be happy then. You may yet have no one to command you. I don't have much longer."

"What, did you see your entire life flash before your eyes?"

Integra frowned faintly. "I happen to hate that expression. It's as though," she took a rattling breath. "It's as though before you die, you search desperately for proof that you were alive to begin with."

Alucard's expression softened. "I never wanted you to die."

"I know," Integra whispered weakly. "You wanted me to be yours."

Alucard was silent for a moment. "You could still be," he said quietly.

A bitter smile came over her face. "You want to give me your blood so that I will recover and walk strong once more." She fell silent and for a second the thrill of hope passed through Alucard's heart. He thought she was considering it until she spoke again.

"How selfish."

The shock was etched into his face. "Selfish? Tell me, Integra, dying and leaving this world a shattered image of what you used to be...how is that selfless?"

But Integra didn't respond. She turned her head away from him.

"Integra," Alucard called urgently.

She sighed lowly. "Farewell. My Count."

His hand wrapped around hers and held it until an hour crawled past and her weak heartbeat stopped altogether. As he sat, staring at her face, sadness overwhelmed him, choked him. "Farewell. My Master," he replied in the silence of the room, in the wake of death.

When Miranda found out, she flew into a rage. She cursed Alucard for not calling her to share in the last moments of her mother's life. Her anger was physical. She tore through the halls, upsetting the castle, breaking glass and screaming until her throat tore and bled before collapsing, exhausted, sobbing and heart-broken in Seras' arms.

The funeral was in three days. Miranda did not attend and Alucard and Seras watched from the back. Alucard remembered feeling this same way at Integra's wedding. Seras worried over what would happen now that Integra was gone but Alucard was already making plans.

He awoke Seras promptly at sundown. "M-master?" she squeaked, looking up from her coffin to Alucard's grinning face. He looked happier than he had in a long time.

"Wake up, Police Girl. I have a job for you."

"A job?" Seras sat up, wiping at her eyes. "What is it?"

"I want you to pack a bag. We're going on vacation."

"Vacation? Where to?"

"Must you repeat me, Seras?" he asked, his grin widening. "It never matters where you go on vacation. Just that you get away from where you are. The Hellsing staff has been fired. And better yet: It's the day of Miranda's inauguration ceremony and the girl has gone missing."

"Miranda's missing?" Seras said in alarm. "We have to find her."

"You will follow my orders, Police Girl. Pack a bag of clothes and meet me at the nearest train station in one hour. Ditch your uniform, you're no longer Hellsing personnel."

"Master, wait," she stuttered. "This is all happening too fast."

"Hurry up, Police Girl," Alucard said, rising to his feet. "The night is young."

And Alucard left the Hellsing mansion. His first step was to find Miranda and he already knew where she'd be. The girl wouldn't try hiding out at Katherine's anymore. Alucard suspected she was somewhere nearby, somewhere familiar. He found her, slumping on the swings of he playground Integra used to take her to. The twelve-year-old didn't seem at all surprised by Alucard's approach.

"I'm not going to the ceremony," she said definatly. "I don't want to be the leader of Hellsing."

"That's just as well," Alucard replied. "Because I'd never think of you as a good leader."

Miranda looked up at him, tearfully. "Why are you being so mean to me?" she asked.

Alucard rolled his eyes. "Because you're acting so pitiful. Besides, I didn't come to bug you about that. Chances are you'll be made into a figurehead against your will anyway. I came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?"

"That's right. Au revoir. Sayonora. Later, kid."

"Where are you going?" she asked suddenly fearful.

"Away," he said, relishing her despair.

"I don't want you to go," she said, standing up quickly.

"Is that so? Well, I think it's unfortunate then that I don't do what you want."

Her eyes narrowed fiercely. "I order you not to go!"

Alucard laughed. "Haven't I told you that you can't order me around, Miranda?"

She softened now, going back to tears. "Alucard, please don't go. Please. I'll behave myself, I'll act like a good leader. Please, I'll do anything, if you'll stay!"

"One cannot _act_ like a good leader, Miranda. You either are or you aren't. And you aren't. Come now." He turned her back. "It's time I took you back to the mansion."

"I won't go back!" she shouted and turned to run.

Immediately, Alucard phased in front of her, blocking her path. He lashed out, grabbing her arm and picked her up, throwing her over her shoulder. Miranda raged and kicked and screamed but to no avail. "Alucard, let me go! Put me down! I don't want to go back, I don't wanna!" She was a sniffling pile of tears when they returned to Hellsing and her awaiting father.

"Alucard," Christopher Lee said, stepping forward at the sight of them. "Thank goodness you found her."

Alucard made a small noise of agreement before setting Miranda down. Naturally, she tried to escape again but her father grabbed her, causing her to scream again. "Miranda, stop this foolishness," he commanded, squeezing her wrist painfully. The girl quieted down but tugged occasionally on her father's hold. Alucard had to grin at the little girl, so determined to escape her fate. "I'll be seeing you. Take care of yourself."

The last thing he saw before vanishing was Miranda's tortured, anguished face.

-

It took about an hour for all of Alucard's plans to fall into place. He purchased two train tickets and had his and Seras' coffin put on a special cargo route for their destination. He was waiting twenty minutes for Seras, his patience dwindling when she finally showed up.

She had changed out of her Hellsing uniform as commanded. She walked towards him in her usual combat boots but now she wore a pair of black pants and a small black t-shirt that exposed her pale, flat midriff. Thrown around her was a long red trenchcoat the looked very much like Alucard's. With circular, black-tinted glasses and a sexy smirk, she walked with the confidence of an aged Nosferatu.

"That's a good look for you, Police Girl," Alucard commented, impressed, when she reached him.

"I've never really liked my mini-skirt uniform," she said with a smile. "It's hard to get around when I have to worry if people can see my bum."

Alucard finally caught notice of the two containers she'd brought in. He recognized them as the holding cases for the Harkonnen and the Harkonnen II.

"What did you bring those for?" Alucard asked with a faint frown.

"Oh." Seras grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Master. I just...couldn't stand the thought of leaving them behind to collect dust."

Alucard gave a slightly exasperated sigh. "And how, my dearest Police Girl, do you intend to get two high powered military weapons through a simple train station?"

Seras smiled, removing her shades. "Why don't you just leave that to me?" she said and started walking towards the check-in counter.

When she placed the Harkonnen guns onto the scale they weighed a combined 879 pounds. "Ma'am," the attendant said. "I'm afraid you can't take such a large package onto the train."

Alucard watched with interest to see what Seras would do.

The Draculina locked eyes with the attendant and held the gaze for several seconds. Then she waved her hand in front of the woman's face. "This is not the package you're looking for," she said seriously.

The woman's eyes flickered red for a moment but then she blinked and shook her head. "What?"

Alucard rolled his eyes at Seras' foolishness. He brushed his protege aside and took his place in front of the woman. "The containers are not filled with any dangerous weapons. You do not need to check them. We will be taking them onto the train. There is no problem."

Her eyes went red completely, blank and unfocused. "There is no problem," she repeated emptily.

"Good." Alucard looked at Seras. "Grab your things," he said and turned away without waiting for her. Seras hurried to catch up with him. "Wait, Master," she called in protest.

Alucard whirled on her. "Police Girl. Nosferatu are masters of hypnosis, the ability to impress our will onto others. Don't confuse it with cheap theatrics like the Jedi Mind Trick."

Seras looked sheepish. "I thought it might work, is all," she said, slightly embarrassed.

Alucard sighed faintly and placed his hand on Seras' head, ruffling her hair. "You've been a creature of the night for a while now but you still are horribly inexperienced. This trip is to help you along with your progress."

"Are you going to tell me where we're going now?"

He held out her train ticket to her and she took it, reading it quickly.

"_Wallachia_?" she asked incredulously, looking up at him. "Wallachia, Romania?"

"Correct, Police Girl."

-

Seras sat in her seat, across from Alucard, looking out the window, her knees bouncing anxiously.

"Why so nervous, Police Girl?" Alucard asked with amusement.

Seras sighed heavily, blowing her hair out of her face. They'd been traveling for about two hours now and Seras had grown increasingly fidgety. "Why are we going such a great distance, Master?" she asked with a note of desperation.

"There's no reason to stay In London. Not to me. With Integra's death, she left her position to Miranda who doesn't want it to begin with. What's left of the Round Table will place her as a figurehead and do as they please with the Hellsing Institution. Chances are you and I would be imprisoned in the dungeons like I was decades ago."

"But...what about Katherine? You didn't even say goodbye."

He closed his eyes briefly. "You don't need to worry about her," he said, unconcerned.

"Master," Seras said in annoyance.

"Silence," Alucard said, cutting her off and rising to his feet. "Haven't I told you not to worry already? You certainly do whine a lot."

Seras pouted. "You don't have to be so mean," she said defensively.

He smirked. "I would've thought you'd gotten used to it by now," he said and left their compartment.

Seras fell back to her seat, crossing her arms petulantly. Her gaze softened as she looked out the window. Minutes passed before she grew tired and Alucard returned with a satisfied air about him.

"What've you been up to?" Seras asked suspiciously.

"I wasn't aware I had to report to you, Police Girl," he said smugly.

Seas sighed in faint annoyance and leaned her forehead against the window, watching the darkness zip by.

"I've just had a bit to drink," he said casually, resuming his seat.

Seras sat up straight immediately. "You what?"

"I didn't stutter, Police Girl," he said softly.

Seras just gaped.

Alucard grinned, tilting his head to the side. "You jealous? My Police Girl? Feeling hungry?" He knit his fingers together and watched her. At the mention of hunger, Seras' stomach gave an involuntary growl and she moved to grasp it but steadied herself. She looked back at him, hesitating. There'd be no point in lying; he'd see right through her.

"I'll live," she said softly at last.

"Not if you keep denying yourself. We don't have the _luxury_ of medical blood at our disposal now, Police Girl. You're going to have to drink from living humans now. You have no other choice."

Seras drooped sadly.

"What's the look for?" Alucard asked, amused once more. "It's really not as awful as you're making it seem. I can guarantee you'll feel much better," he said, his voice smooth as silk. He extended his gloved hand. "Come. And we shall find you a decent meal."

Seras eyed his hand with faint trepidation...

-

"Man, what are we doing?" Sam complained loudly. "I can think of at least ten better things I'd rather be doing right about now."

"Sam, put a cork in it," Katherine said over her shoulder. "We have to see what's going on at the mansion."

Damien yawned widely, showing his fangs. "I'd rather be sleeping," he said lowly with a tired edge to his voice. "You know even vampire slayers need downtime, Kat."

The No-Life Princess turned on them with annoyance in her eyes. "God! You guys whine a lot. Just shut up and we'll be done in awhile, alright? Goddamn!"

Sam rolled her eyes and Damien smiled. He moved closer to Kat, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Don't be so testy, Kit Kat."

She ignored him for a minute as they approached the Hellsing gates. The place looked empty and abandoned. "Hm." Kat pushed on the gate and the lock broke effortlessly. The trio of vampires walked up to the front door and pushed it open.

"No one's here," Sam said after a few seconds from stepping inside.

After a quick inspection of the place, Sam's statement was confirmed. They convened in the basement where Kat's eyes narrowed at the lack of coffins. "So where're your parents?" Sam asked, looking around. Kat glanced around silently, noticing two scraps of paper on the basement floor. She knelt down and picked them up, raising them to her face.

"What is it?" Damien asked, coming up behind her.

"A train ticket receipt," she answered dully. "To...Romania." She growled, raising to her feet. "They went to bloody Romania! What kind of parents leave their kid behind without even saying anything?" She tossed the ticket stubs back to the floor and turned away. "Forget it, let's go home." She stomped to the door with Damien behind her before they noticed that Sam had not moved. The energetic, redhead had bent to examine the tickets.

"Sam, I'm not going to wait for you," Katherine said impatiently.

Sam released several low breaths, a secret smile playing on her lips. "Guys, don't you know what this means?"

"What?" Damien asked.

"You two have no imaginations whatsoever. We've got a whole castle to us, empty at that and the only two people who could say anything to us are hundreds of miles away."

The other two still looked blank.

"Aw, grab a brain, you nitwits! I'm thinking we could throw the biggest goddamn party in all of London!" she said with a wild grin.

Katherine blinked then her face gained a certain thoughtfulness. "You know what, Sam?" she said lowly. "I don't often get to say this...But I think that's a damn good idea you've got."

Sam smiled. "I thought you might say that. Dame?"

He shrugged. "I have no opinion," he said with a smile.

"Then it's settled," she said, already bouncing with excitement. "Hellsing House will be the host of the year's biggest party!"

**Okay, I hope to get even more reviews this time around and I'm so happy to know that people are still reading. Ja!  
**


	30. The Night of the Party

**No time for BS. Let's get back into it. Thanks to those who have hung on dutifully:**

**allied2me**

**Lord Makura**

**Koori Youkai Hime**

**ParanoidSchizo**

**Order 30: The Night of the Party**

Damien was swiftly getting taught a lesson. He was learning the extent of craziness girls can go to. If he could never learn the mental workings of females that would be fine but he was currently a front row spectator at the Concert of Crazy starring Samantha and Katherine.

An expression of trepidation had settled comfortably over the vampire youth's face as he watched the two girls preparing for their party. His girlfriend and friend who happened to be a girl were moving about, phasing here and there, in a rapid fashion in order to get everything all together. They were squealing with the feeling of pre-party excitement.

"Here?"

"No, there."

"Black?"

"No, blue!"

"Hair up or down?"

"Hmm, down. No up."

"I like it down."

"Then wear it down, jeez."

"Doritos or Cheetos?"

"Cheetos."

"Cheetos are gross!"

"_You're_ gross! Doritos are disgusting."

"Are not."

"Are too."

Damien had been under the previous impression that vampire girls were naturally crazy but no, that was unfair - _all_ girls were probably this crazy. He had stopped trying to help hours ago when Sam, frantic over her lost favorite dance CD, had struck him hard, locating the missing disc between the cushions he had been sitting on. Why Sam thought he was to blame for the CD getting lost was beyond him. He hadn't even had time to phase out of the way; she was getting much faster. And Kat had done little to stop the abuse against her boyfriend aside from distracting Sam from raining down more punishment.

Bruised and battered, Damien had sulked off to contemplate the volatile sadism his friends seemed to have acquired.

He sat off in the corner, out of harm's way, and allowed his mind to wander. It had been a long time since his transformation. Miranda Hellsing was born, Integra Hellsing had died, his parents were getting old, and his brother was growing up. Darren had jokingly said that Damien was now his younger brother for the once-younger sibling was now twenty-two and for all intents and purposes Damien was still a seventeen year old. It was startling, to say the least, for Damien to look in the mirror and see the same face from ten years ago, looking back at him unchanged.

He and Sam were quickly learning of the vampire's curse. Sam, not exactly coming from a loving household didn't experience the sense of wonderment and slight pain that Damien had. His heart panged at his aging parents and how they would die and he would remain. Kat had solemnly informed him this was the life of all vampires and he would have to accept that. It was tough though.

His reverie was interrupted when Katherine phased near to him and snatched up a stack of CDs. She began shifting through the discs. "Why is American music better than ours?" she wondered aloud.

"Because Americans know how to party!" Sam crowed from the living room where she was hanging streamers.. "Remember that transfer student that came in about a year of two ago? Elliot, I think his name was. Man, was he hot. Not at all like our stuffy English gentlemen."

"I am very insulted," Damien said, faking indignation.

"Aw," Kat said, turning to him with a smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her body into his. "I like your stuffiness just fine," she said, batting her long dark eyelashes his way in a presumably innocent manner.

Coming to life, his arms came around her waist, pulling her to him. "Yeah? You know, I try to maintain an uptight air about me. Seems I'm succeeding."

Katherine laughed and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

Katherine was definitely a plus in all this. If he had to live for an eternity, he would decidedly prefer it with her at his side. Honestly, he thought she was perfect. Clever, and strong, beautiful and tough…Plus, she was an excellent lay. _Maybe not the best choice of words_, he thought looking into her bright red eyes. But anyone who's never had sex with a vampire was undeniably living a deprived life. Tingles ran up his spine and he kissed her again, hungrily, before Sam materialized and snatched her away.

By the evening, the castle had been transformed. Hellsing Manor was no longer the dingy castle, with access forbidden, where drunk teenagers dared each other to try and sneak over the gate. Now, the drunk teens were invited inside. Sam had used some of that powerful feminine will to score a whole bunch of liquor for the party. Kat marveled at how simple boys could be. The clerk had just rung up their drinks while staring stupidly at Sam who teased, tossing her hair and licking her glossed lips. Personally, Kat thought the other girl was going a bit far but it wasn't her place to judge.

The party guests began arriving at around seven. Sam maneuvered her way through the crowds making sure the refreshments were well-stocked and nothing was getting broken. Katherine and Damien occupied a corner, in companionable silence.

Within an hour, the party had seriously kicked off. The foyer had been transformed into a dance floor and Kat had assumed the duty of chasing couples out of the upstairs rooms when things got a little too hot and heavy. Sam took to crowd-surfing and swiftly got revenge on any guy who thought to cop a feel while she was doing so. Before long, a large amount of people were launching themselves into the crowd. Kat counted quickly and tallied the party guests at one hundred and twenty-six.

_Jeez_, she thought uneasily. _Since when do I even know one hundred and twenty-six kids?_

They had simply taken to littering the front yard of their old high school with invitations. Since any student they had attended school with was grown up, it was safe to say Katherine probably couldn't identify a single face.

Katherine leaned over the staircase railing overlooking the floor and smiled down at the crowd. The music was shaking the walls, since Sam had insisted on renting those heavy duty club speakers and the strobe light was steadily aiming to give her a pounding headache. The screwdriver Sam had mixed her wasn't helping her condition either.

"Having fun?"

Kat moved to look over her shoulder at the sound of Damien's voice but quickly found herself pressed between the railing and her boyfriend's pelvis.

"Yeah, a regular blast," she muttered with a faint smile on her face and turned her head to look at him.

She felt his upper body press against her back and his mouth came near her ear. "You know there are a whole bunch of empty rooms right down the hall," he said in a low husky voice.

"I'm aware," she answered, her smile growing. Quickly, she caught his mouth and gave him a fierce kiss. Damien immediately reciprocated, his fang sliding along his bottom lip threatening to tear the skin and let blood flow. Before long, Kat felt her heart rate begin to pick up. She broke the liplock briefly to turn completely around to face him and resumed her position. Her passion was suddenly alight. Given her previous choice in boyfriends - a psycho pervert freak who murdered children – Damien was definitely a Corvette among Hondas.

The making out progressed and Kat would have been content to spend the rest of the evening like that, with hot tongues, and wandering hands, and fingers entangled in her hair, were it not for the sudden spike in her supernatural radar. There was a vampire – no, more than two – nearby and they were close.

The teenage vampires broke apart almost immediately breathing heavily.

"You feel that?" Damien asked unnecessarily.

Katherine nodded. Her eyes narrowed she turned and shouted over the railing. "Samantha!"

She saw her friend's eyes lock on hers and then the light of realization. She shifted from the hands of the crowds that lifted her, ducked below the sea of dancers, and vanished, reappearing next to her friends.

"Where are they?" she asked, her tough girl, gung-ho attitude coming to surface quickly.

Katherine turned away and headed down the hallways. Sniffing the air, she was brought to Integra's old office. She shoved open the door and stepped in.

Four young men inhabited the room, lounging like they owned the place. One stood by the window, the other in the desk chair, and two more on the edges of the desk. A girl, a human girl, sat on the center of the desk, looking dazed and unfocused.

The air in the room was tense, as to be expected.

The one in the chair looked up with an expression of fake surprise. "Oh, hey," he said casually. "Great party you're having."

A thundercloud passed over Katherine's face.

"I don't believe you were invited," she said calmly, trying to keep her cool.

"Technically, you just tossed around invitations to anyone who wanted to come. There were no specifications." He stood up then. This vampire, he had dark blonde hair and blue eyes. Tall, thin, and pale, Katherine didn't find him intimidating at all. The others, though, were clearly more muscular. It was a cliché setting: the leader being small but smart, the henchmen big, burly, and stupid.

"Granted," she said after a moment. "In any case, I suggest you leave now. That's the only time I'm going to suggest it."

The lead vampire smirked and moved around the desk towards the human female. "I would say you're bluffing but I know better. Katherine, vampire hunter of vampires, doesn't bluff, does she?" The boy ran a quick hand through his hair. "Name's Andrew, by the way. No need for introductions; we all know full well who you three are."

Katherine stepped into the room, flanked by Damien and Sam who was clenching her fists, aching to fight.

"What are you doing here?" Katherine asked tiredly. She had been sincerely hoping to have a nice evening, without incident and these particular vamps seemed bound and determined to ruin that hope.

Andrew, or so he was called, gave a nonchalant shrug. "Well, just the thought of a bunch of inebriated teenagers all grouped together in one place…How could I resist?" He reached out a hand and entwined his fingers in the girl's hair. She gave a quiet moan as he pulled her head back, exposing her neck.

Katherine inhaled a sharp breath as the vampire leaned in towards her neck and smelled.

"Ah, not a virgin but she's healthy nonetheless. She'll taste delicious," he said lowly.

Katherine bared her teeth. "Let the girl go," she commanded. Katherine didn't know her, didn't owe the scrawny little brunette any favors, but no one, vampire or mortal, got hurt around her if they didn't deserve it.

Andrew rolled his eyes and looked over at her. "Let me give you a quick lesson, Katherine of Hellsing. It's about the difference between vampires and humans. It's similar to lions and gazelles. Humans are merely fodder, nothing more."

Katherine's eyes immediately went red. She was sick to death of hearing this! Without thinking, her form shifted into shadows and she sped toward Andrew quickly, wrapping her fist around his neck.

The henchmen moved quicker than Kat had expected. She felt someone begin to yank her hair before the hold was released with the sound of Damien's shout. Sam dashed forward, taking the girl's hand and yanked her away from the battle before jumping into it herself. The girl, lulled either by alcohol or vampiric hypnosis, looked on with low-lidded eyes. Sam slammed one the vampire's cronies into the desk, successfully knocking him out. Then she had the other to contend with who was much bigger than her.

Damien was scuffling, blow for blow, with the vampire in his hand. And Andrew had freed himself Katherine's grasp with a well-executed kick to the face that she hadn't anticipated. Andrew glared hatefully at Katherine and a wicked grin shone on his face. "Gimme what you got, you Hellsing bitch."

Katherine was more than happy to oblige. Her muscles tensed and she launched herself towards Andrew, her right fist drawn back to aim at his face.

The male vampire seemed to be expecting this move. He saw her fist coming and he simply shifted his face to the side. Grasping hold of her wrist, he yanked her to his right, having her crash to the office floor. Katherine gasped slightly as she suddenly found herself facing the ground. She grinned crookedly turning her head to look back at him. With painstaking movements, she moved into a crouching position, ignoring the burning pain in her arm. She twisted sharply, wrenching her wrist from his hold. Breathing heavily she took a step back as her bones reset themselves.

Andrew took a few steps back, his eyes focused, and ducked as Sam and his acolyte flew overhead, engaged in fierce combat. "You're a pathetic excuse for a vampire," he spat at her, coming back into his stance. Katherine shook out her arm a few times to diminish the pain and glared at him, slightly distracted by the curses spat by Damien and his opponent. Her muscles tensed at the insult and she ran forward, whipping her leg up to hit him right in the ribs.

Hers was a grin of triumph as his eyes widened in pain and the sound of breaking bones sounded throughout the office. But it was then her turn to feel surprised. Andrew opened his palm, forcing her leg to the side, and quickly spun, only to bring his arm to slam against the back of the Katherine's head in a forceful, skilled move. A cry caught in her throat and her eyes crossed for the moment. Fed up and more than a little pissed, Katherine ignored Alucard's teachings of keeping her cool in a battle. She snapped and threw herself at him, knocking him backwards, as she ended up straddling him. Her left hand went around his throat, quickly cutting off his air.

"Now, let me give you a lesson," Katherine said lowly as the sounds of the others fighting died away. "Long ago lived the Vampires of Old. They were an elegant clan, calm and strong. And while they didn't exactly invite mortals into their home, they didn't go around slaughtering them unnecessarily!"

Andrew threw his head back and laughed. "You stupid bitch! What do you think you can accomplish by showing compassion? You may be the daughter of the Nosferatu Alucard, but you're weak. And you're always going to be weak-" He suddenly lashed up, scratching her across the eyes with his nails. As she drew back with a shout of pain, he brought his legs up and kicked her full in the chest. Katherine flew back and Damien caught her but no one thought to stop Andrew who raced for the human girl.

"If you keep caring for them!" he shouted. His fingers wrapped in the girl's hair and yanked her head back, exposing her pale neck.

Katherine saw his movements through bloodied eyes, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She screamed in her head then the cry ripped from her throat. _"NO!" _

Andrew clamped onto the girl's throat. He didn't stop to savor the blood either. He jerked his head to the side, opening a gaping wound. It was most assuredly fatal.

Katherine wrestled out of Damien's hold and lunged once more for the other vampire. She saw nothing but red as she drew her hand back and stabbed it into him, past the layer of skin, through the ribcage, swimming through blood, to explode out his back, his heart still pulsing in her hand.

Andrew managed a grim smile before he dissolved. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Katherine breathed heavily as she lowered her arm back to her side. "Katherine," Sam squeaked. She sounded afraid.

Katherine ignored her friend for the moment. She turned to look at the girl who gave a death rattle as Katherine watched and then the body was still. It took a minute for the corpse to reanimate with the trademark skin of purple hue and ghoulish red eyes of the undead. Katherine pulled her gun out, cocked it, and pulled the trigger.

-

She remained in her coffin for the next two weeks, only emerging to drink blood. With the decline of the Hellsing Institute, their secret deal with the local blood bank went under and there was no longer a controlled way for the vampires to receive their sustenance. Katherine fed from living victims and she always made sure never to pierce them with her fangs, never to find male virgins, never to hurt them but after the confrontation of the party, she felt the wild impulse to drain the nearest living thing to her. But she couldn't do that. She drank and returned to her bed, ignoring the worried stares of her friends.

Katherine found solace in the darkness, where no one could lay eyes on her. She was a vampire, yes, but did that mean she couldn't show a bit of mercy? Was it her destiny to be a cruel and heartless monster? No. Katherine knew there was no strength in picking on those weaker than you. That was simply arrogance taken up a notch. _Vampires are an arrogant bunch,_ she thought bitterly, reminiscing about her father. He would have told her to stop losing sleep and get over it but Katherine knew he'd be lying.

Alucard had loved, really _loved_, Integra. Integra had known it, Walter had known it, and Seras had probably known as well. If it was weak to care for humans then Alucard must have been as weak as they come.

Katherine missed her parents. She had left home, long before they did, for freedom. She returned when Integra died but then they had left, abandoned her. She felt sadness and guilt.

Seras would have been sympathetic. She would have helped Katherine through it. But then…there was a reason for that. Seras was a human for twenty years before her change. So were Damien and Sam. It was alright – almost, expected – for them to show leniency when it came to mortals. But Katherine was born a vampire and, from what she remembered, she had been a little hellion, the true spawn of Alucard. She struggled to remember, what had changed?

This contemplation would do her no good. She couldn't discern the true meaning of the word vampire; it was a futile effort. She remembered that Alucard had once said she had an old soul. She had been offended at the time, thinking he meant she acted like an old lady or something, but now she knew it was a compliment. He meant she behaved like the Vampires of Old and considering the way vampires acted nowadays, she thought it was the nicest thing Alucard had ever said to her.

She rose from her coffin one day, in slightly higher spirits, and joined her friends in their (somewhat) normal existence: watching tv, going out at night, and having fun. It cost too much to dwell on little things, Katherine decided. She wasn't going to torture herself on how a vampire _should_ act. She was just going to act the way her instincts dictated. That was good enough for her.

-

It was on a sunny day, almost a year later, when Katherine heard faint footsteps overhead. Someone was in the castle. She got out of her coffin to investigate. The sun was unbearably bright; Sam had forgotten to draw the curtains and Katherine had to fight to keep her eyelids propped open. She walked up to the first floor where the sound was concentrated. Rounding the corner, she spotted the figure of a person.

"Turn around," she demanded, trying to stave off a yawn.

The person's shoulders hunched and they turned slowly, drawing down the hood of their black sweatshirt. Katherine drew back.

It was Miranda Hellsing.

Tears cut a clear path through her dirt stained cheeks. Miranda's light blue eyes – somehow more weary than Katherine remembered – welled with more tears.

"Katherine," she said, her voice cracked and throaty. "I need your help. _Please_."

Katherine's eyes widened.

**The next chapter is written and will be out in a couple of days, pending the receiving of reviews. Thank y'all!**


	31. The Next Round of Training

**This chapter is dedicated to **Koori Youkai Hime, **the only one who** **stopped to review the last chapter. Here's looking at you, kid.**

**Order 31: The Next Round of Training**

"Master. Master, please wait up."

Alucard ignored the whining sound of his servant and continued his trek. Behind him, he heard Seras yelp as she slipped.

He whirled around and pinned her with an evil-eyed glare. "I don't have time to keep stopping and waiting for you."

"Well, what's the hurry?" she said pleadingly then snapped. "This wouldn't be a problem if you would just let me phase."

In an instant, Alucard was in front of her, fisting the front of her jacket in his hand. "You have a problem, Police Girl?" he asked, menacingly.

Seras glared back at him and for several crucial seconds they had a staring contest until the heat of Alucard's gaze overpowered her and she had to look away. "No," she mumbled.

"Then we continue," he said and released her.

The two were currently transversing the rocky path that led to the ancient Dracul castle. They'd been traveling for a day now with Seras complaining of the ache in her feet and demanding a piggy back ride from Alucard. Her master had ignored her for the majority of the trip, his annoyance mounting ever higher.

But they were much closer now and with their destination so near, Alucard had pushed forward relentlessly, maybe a bit too hard for Seras whom he still considered a neophyte despite all the years she had spent as one of the undead.

Seras was holding her breath, trying not to agitate Alucard any more so than he already was. It seemed he'd snapped at every sound she made so she was making an effort to remain quiet. Though it was hard.

They traveled in silence for several more minutes before Alucard lifted his head and Seras could sense a change in the air. A force, a scent, she didn't know. But she did know that they had arrived.

The castle loomed ahead of them, large and ominous. It constructed of black stone but looked rather well-kempt despite its very obvious age. Vines twisted around the walls and turrets and sun shined off the windows. Added to the décor, was a woman, lying asleep in the grass of the front lawn.

"Master?" Seras squeaked but Alucard was already striding towards the female, a confident grin on his face.

When he approached her, he stood over her sleeping form, circled her once, then unceremoniously, kicked her.

She sat up quickly. "Oi, what is it?" she half-shouted, looking about for the disturbance before her eyes settled on Alucard.

"It's you," she breathed in amazement.

"Your powers of perception are as astute as ever, I see," Alucard drawled lazily.

The woman struggled to her feet and Seras could see she was not much older than herself (appearance wise). She had tanned skin and dark violet eyes that scrutinized Alucard critically. Messy black hair was hidden under her dark blue bandanna. She wore a blue and white dress with a sweeping neckline and pendants of all kinds draped across her neck.

"I thought you were dead," she said awestruck.

"I could say likewise," Alucard replied. "So what are you doing here, Naiyu?"

-

Naiyu was a gypsy. Alucard had met her in Rome in 1673 during his travels. She was supposed to be a great holder of knowledge and wisdom but Seras found that hard to believe. To her, the girl seemed flighty and childish.

"Care to explain how you're still alive?" Alucard had asked.

"Well," Naiyu bit her nail anxiously. "The thing is, I'm not exactly the Naiyu you used to know, my lord. That woman died several hundred years ago. I am her reincarnation, her great great great great great great great granddaughter."

"I see," he said lowly. "And yet you know me?"

"Of course. Among my people, when one reincarnation is born, he or she receives all the memories of the previous incarnation. I can't believe she didn't tell you all this."

"There wasn't much time, as I'm sure you know."

"Ah, that's right."

Seras wondered what they were talking about.

"And now who is this?" Naiyu asked suddenly. It was her first acknowledgment of Seras' presence.

"I'm -"

"Seras Victoria," Alucard answered for her. "My newest fledgling."

Naiyu's eyes lit up. "Is _that_ so? I never thought I'd see the day where you would make another. I thought I sensed something special about you."

Seras was busy blushing over the compliment when Alucard scoffed. "Special, indeed. The only thing special about Seras is her power to constantly complain and whine."

Seras blanched, now blushing from embarrassment when Naiyu whirled on Alucard. "You hush! Three centuries past and you still act like a child."

"Who are you calling a child, reincarnation?"

"You, you brat!"

"Gypsy witch."

"Vampire freak!"

They glared at each other before Seras hastily broke up the situation.

"Do as you please," Alucard said angrily and began to head into the castle.

Naiyu's fierce expression melted at once and she reached her hand out. "Wait, Alucard."

He paused, did not turn around.

"You asked why I was here. Every previous Naiyu visits this place from time to time, knowing it was the home of the greatest vampire. But when I arrived one month ago, I sensed a terrible evil had settled over this castle. One even stronger than yours."

Alucard listened, and then scoffed again. "You let me be the judge of that," he said and trudged into the castle.

Naiyu appeared worried but she brightened when she turned to Seras. "He is so temperamental."

"Tell me about it," she grumbled. "He's been nothing but mean this whole trip though I think he was even meaner to you."

Naiyu shrugged nonchalantly. "He doesn't like things that remind him of the past."

Seras watched her. "Why is that?"

Naiyu fell silent then, "He has had a difficult life," she offered lowly. She then looked up, her dark eyes shining. "But he has you now, Seras Victoria. And that surely counts for something. I want to know how Alucard's been doing. Will you tell me?"

Seras seemed surprised. "Why do you care so much for my Master?"

Naiyu's smile was brilliant. "Don't you know?" she asked breathlessly. Her hands clasped, her eyes turned upwards, and when she spoke, her voice was full of love. "Alucard was once a great hero."

-

Alucard left the females to their chattering. He entered the castle and confirmed what Naiyu had said immediately. A terrible sort of malevolence had befallen the castle. It was so thick Alucard thought he might choke. This cold sweeping feeling sparked an emotion in him he did not know he could feel: anxiety.

Alucard might never know what had happened since the last time he had been to the castle but whatever it was, he was severely annoyed by it.

Someone strong, maybe as strong as him, had resided here. Where they were now, Alucard couldn't figure out.

He was perturbed that such a person had set foot in the place that had once been his home and he quickly set out to rid the castle of that person's presence.

-

"He was very much the same as he was now, arrogant, rude but he was different as well. I could sense his past, as long and dark as his shadow. He was stolen from his home and enslaved for many years before his release. Upon his freedom he learned that his family had perished, his traitorous father, his lovely mother, and his favorite brother, the elder, Mircea. And he set about restoring honor to the Dracul name. The land was cast into darkness as his reign of terror continued.

And then he met a woman. Mataji, the Vampire Queen. Through her, the creatures called vampires, began to grow and before long, they became a vast and powerful clan. And Alucard was happy.

He traveled the world and now this is the part that history neglects to mention. He met many people and saved many lives. From the villages of Egypt, to the brothels of Japan, and the moors of Ireland, he extended his hand and touched people's lives. Yet historians only feel the need to document his cruelty. One cannot be completely cruel or completely benevolent. He was cruel, yes, but there was great love and compassion in him.

But that was before Van Helsing.

Van Helsing acted like a plague. He and his comrades swept down and _destroyed_ the vampire clan, fueled by their fear and ignorance. It is the same prejudice my people have suffered. Everyone Lord Alucard ever cared for was slaughtered. And he would have been too…were it not for Mina.

I never got the chance to meet her but I know, she was a woman of great empathy. She begged to spare Alucard's life. Despite all he had done to her, she still showed him kindness. And I think Alucard must have loved her very much. He was not killed but taken hostage. And from there, I cannot continue."

Naiyu took a deep breath and smiled. "I'm happy to know he's still alive and well."

Seras breathed softly. "I had no idea…"

The gypsy girl shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't expect he would be willing to tell something so personal. By the way, don't tell him I told you."

"I won't," she promised and shook her head. "It's just so _sad_."

"It is a tragic tale," Naiyu agreed. "But Alucard is strong. He would never show he was sad, that'd be weakness to him. Likewise, he expects you to be strong."

"Me?" Seras asked.

"_Yes_," Naiyu said forcefully. "You are the first fledgling Alucard has created in about a century. You are special. Somehow, you've cracked his stone heart."

Seras looked uncertain but Naiyu regarded her excitedly.

"Didn't you ever wonder why he picked you? I told you he was a hero. He saw a woman in distress and it stirred in him his ancient desire to protect. You are the key. Take it from me - I have the mind of countless generations of the world's greatest clairvoyant – Alucard loves you."

Seras blushed. "I know my Master cares for me but…I've never thought that he could really…"

"Well, why shouldn't you? Sure, he's mean but that's his brand of tough love. He'd be crushed if you died."

Seras looked at her startled. "Why should I die?"

Naiyu blinked and waved her hand in embarrassment. "Forgive me. I was speaking hypothetically, of course. I shouldn't have-"

"Seras."

Both Gypsy and Draculina spun around, startled by Alucard's deep voice. The No-Life King stood tall and imposing, his face a hard mask of indifference. Seras got the impression, though, that he was very angry.

"Master?"

"Come with me," he said gruffly. "There's still a few hours of sun and you need to rest up."

"What for?" she asked curiously.

She shrunk back at the scowl that crossed her master's face, at being challenged.

"Don't talk back to me," Alucard said. "Now go."

Seras' anger suddenly flared. "Damn it, stop treating me like a child! I can –" She stopped suddenly. Alucard's anger seemed to have waned. For a split second, he just looked very weary and Seras felt a pang in her heart.

"Seras," Naiyu piped up. "Perhaps you _should_ retreat from the sun." The Gypsy girl gave her a warm smile. "You will surely need the energy for the times to come."

Seras looked between the two and turned, feeling deftly defeated. She started into the castle, her head hung low.

Alucard gave a long suffering sigh as soon as she was gone. "What am I going to do with that girl?"

Naiyu covered her laugh with a hand and fixed Alucard with a beguiling smile. "Love her," she said simply. "Just like you loved Mata-"

"_Don't_," Alucard said sharply, harshly, his teeth showing. "She's dead. Don't bring her up." His voice lowered. "They all die."

Naiyu looked at him sympathetically. "But Seras won't. She'll be around forever."

Alucard remained still for a few seconds before he scoffed angrily. "When did I become so foolish and sentimental? I must be getting old," he said and spun around, heading into the castle.

Naiyu leaned against a nearby tree and smiled as she watched him go.

-

Seras was so tired she slept through the night and the following day. She awoke the next day, refreshed and ravenous. She pushed open the lid of her coffin, airmailed from London, and yawned widely.

"It's about time."

Seras turned to see Alucard sitting nearby in a chair, his fingers interwoven patiently, a smirk on his face.

"Good evening," Seras said cheerfully.

"And a good evening to you, Police Girl," he replied, his voice smooth and silky. "I trust you're all rested up?"

She nodded and swung her legs over the side of the coffin, rising to her feet.

"Good," Alucard said satisfactorily and did the same. "Are you hungry, Police Girl?"

Seras hesitated and in the brief pause they could both hear her stomach growl loudly. She sweatdropped. "Maybe just a little."

Alucard chuckled. He crossed the room and opened the door. "Will you come in here please, my dear?" he said to someone Seras couldn't see.

In through the door, waltzed a pale-skinned, brunette beauty. She was dressed in an elegant gown with her eyelids lowered sleepily. She regarded Alucard with a smile then turned to Seras and did a polite curtsy.

"I am here to serve," she said, her accented voice low and lusty.

Seras winced slightly. "Master-"

"No." Alucard caught her off. "We are not having this discussion again. You need to drink and if you refuse I'll make you watch while I drain her."

"So mean," Seras muttered under her breath and approached the woman hesitantly. For her part, she looked very unfazed as she swept back her mane of dark hair and exposed her neck to Seras.

Seras neared her, her reluctance quite evident, before she decided to just get it over with. If she moved quickly she didn't have to think about it too much. A quick cutting of flesh, the swift welling of blood, and the taste, rich and sweet in her mouth. The woman gave a quiet gasp and shuddered before her body relaxed and both were at ease. Seras drank hungrily, getting swept up in the tide, before Alucard's voice reached her.

"You might want to let go," he instructed, a note of glee in his voice.

Seras' eyes opened – she hadn't realized she closed them – and suddenly she and the woman weren't the only two in the room. Alucard was standing behind them, like an adult supervising children, and the woman's breath was becoming labored, her heart skipping. Seras detached her mouth and flung herself backwards.

Alucard laughed. "Go outside, Seras. I'll be with you shortly."

She took a deep breath, licking the blood from her lips. The woman had sunk to her knees onto the cold stone floor, her weak hand rising to clutch the wound.

"Go," Alucard said again.

Faltering slightly, Seras left the room, heading outside. She located Naiyu immediately. The Gypsy girl was sitting on a low hanging branch of a tree, whittling a flute out of a piece of wood. Seras moved to greet her but Alucard appeared behind her without a sound.

"Seras Victoria," he spoke her name confidently and for some reason, Seras caught a chill. "Your training starts now."

-

"The objective is to unlock the true power you have within you. Vampiric will bests human will by at least a hundred, yet you still have potential locked away, despite all your years as a vampire. It is only through the release of power that you can be called a true Nosferatu. Sit."

Seras sat, crossing her legs Indian-style in the grass.

"Now close your eyes and meditate. To do this, you need to have precise and exact focus. Stop breathing; it will only distract you. Block out sounds and scents and focus on what's inside you."

Seras found his instruction easy enough but once all outside noise was eliminated, her mind refused to shut down.

_This is a peculiar exercise. Does Master really think I have this 'potential' he's talking about? I certainly don't feel like it. If I had any power, I'd be able to use it, wouldn't I? I mean, I don't have any seals to keep me in check like he does. Speaking of which, why hasn't he removed the seals? I hardly see a use for them now. Maybe he can't take them off. Has Master ever taken off those gloves? Maybe he showers with them on._

_You are not concentrating, Police Girl._

Alucard's voice cut through her mindless chatter. She opened her eyes to see him standing there and suddenly they were not in the courtyard of the castle in Wallachia. They were some place dark that Seras didn't recognize.

_Where are we?_ She asked and found she did not need to voice the thought for it to be heard.

_We are in your mind, _Alucard responded nonchalantly, as though he went gallivanting through people's brains on a daily basis. _Follow me._

Seras scrambled to her feet as Alucard started to walk off, down a hallway. It felt to Seras like they were in a darkened hospital.

_I would think my mind would be a bit more cheerful. How did we get here anyway?_

_It is a vampire's ability to look, reach, even go inside themselves,_ Alucard explained.

_This is strange, _she muttered.

They walked on before Alucard stopped at the end of one long hallway with many doors on both of its sides.

_This is your area of vampiric control, _Alucard went along explaining with a lazy air. He walked down the hall, pointing out doors. _This is the one for heightened senses. You've experienced many times before, specifically when your life is in danger. You resort to using this strength to defend yourself._ The next door. _Control of illusions. You've yet to tap into this. But you know full well the harm it can do to someone's mind when used expertly. _The next. _Shadow Manipulation. Very useful, a vampire's best friend. And the last. _He pointed to the dominant door at the end of the hall. _Holds your true power and form behind it. _

Seras looked at the ominous door. _That's my power? Okay. _She rubbed her hands together eagerly and strode down the hall, past Alucard and to the door. She grasped the handle and gave a solid tug but it wouldn't budge. Alucard rolled his eyes and chuckled. _You didn't think it was going to be so easy, did you? You have to be able to control the simpler powers before you unlock your strength. Now wake up._

Seras' eyes snapped open. She had returned to the physical plain. She shifted, her muscles strangely tight and looked up at Alucard.

"First, you're going to have to control your heightened sense. This will be a difficult stage for you. My advice: Keep your wits about you. Don't fold up like a child."

She opened her mouth to ask him what exactly was going to happen before his form came enveloped in shadow. Several crimson eyes opened up and Seras felt herself falling into a dizzying spiral.

When she settled, the world was dark again. But this time she was alone. "Master?" she called out, looking around. She rose shakily to her feet and tried to figure out where she was. "Hello?"

Her world was sent tumbling again. She was sent into a spin and when it righted, she found herself enclosed in a…closet? A feeling of dread crept up her spine as the memory tugged at her mind. She knew where she was. Oh God, she knew…

"Heh, she still feels warm, mate. Think I'll have a go."

The closet door was opened slightly and Seras found her body compelled to look through, knowing the horror that awaited her.

Her mother, dead, eyes still open; her murderer, unbuckling his pants and positioning himself over the corpse; the other, heading for the closet.

Where was the fork? There had been a fork, right? This twist in time had forgotten it.

The door to the closet opened and the vampire leaned in, leering, his breath stinking of alcohol. "Well, lookit what we got here." Seras was not a vampire in this life; she was just a girl, all of nine years, and scared out of her mind.

"Ah, look at it now. Such a sweet tiny little thing." The vampire spoke in a soothing voice but then quickly it turned harsh. "Come here," he growled and Seras felt him grasp her forearm in a vice grip. Terrified, her mind spun and the world followed suit. The scene changed.

She was crying, cowering in the closet, while police sniffed around outside. It wouldn't be long before they discovered her, throwing the doors open and letting in the light.

She leaped again. This time she was sitting in the police station while people buzzed around her, setting her up at an orphanage. She wore a brave face but she was scared here too.

Another leap. She was at the orphanage, age ten, in her bed, trying to keep quiet and still. She heard the rustling of someone moving in the dark and she held her breath. A hand lowered onto her hip, caressing her gently. It was one of the older boys, sneaking through the night. She threw his hand up and rolled to her feet, breathing heavily, biting back tears. It was then she learned to sleep with one eye open.

One more transition. She was a nineteen year old policewoman. She had made a mistake and a criminal had her in a chokehold, a gun resting on her left temple. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest, so hard it was causing her physical pain. She remembered feeling the terror that she was a second from death.

Once again. She leaped to the night in Cheddar. Her breath caught and she was terrified, seeing her comrades fall around her. Then she was the victim, inches away from rape and death. And the torment continued, no Alucard to rescue her now.

She didn't need to breathe but Seras found her breath catching and she struggled to clear her throat. Her heart, undead and still, beat ferociously against her chest. This was a world of fear, fear, and fear. Seras couldn't think straight; she was so afraid.

She felt a sudden sting on her cheek. Her eyes opened and she was back, back in Romania, back with Alucard who had slapped her. Her whole body was trembling.

"Get yourself together, Police Girl," he said gruffly. She wrapped her arms around herself to still the shaking.

"You are a vampire. You have the capabilities to become one of the strongest creatures on the planet and yet you quiver like a child. Memories are nothing but flashbacks. They should hold no weight against you. Now we are going to go this again and again and again until you unlock your strength and show some backbone. Now," he said, straightening up. "Are you ready?"

Seras shook her head resolutely. "No."

He nodded. "Good," he said grimly.

**The next chapter describes a whole bunch of technical vampiric terms and elements that I'm gonna have to pull out of my magic gag bag. In short, the next update **_**might**_** take a little while.**


	32. Training Continues

Seras' training continued with Alucard pushing her to the brink of her mental sanity

**I'm saddened to know that most of my reviewers have dropped off. I guess that's a side effect of going on a month long hiatus. Anyway… Thanks to those who **_**did **_**review:**

**ParanoidSchizo**

**SickDeath**

**Dark night**

**And the chapter is considerably longer hence the longer time it took to get out. I put a lot of effort into this so I hope you enjoy it. Read and review. **

**Order 32: Training Continues**

Seras' training continued with Alucard pushing her to the brink of her mental sanity. She was plagued almost ever day by nightmares; she became nervous and fidgeting, flinching at every sudden movement. This continued for a month with Alucard berating Seras for her lack of progress. It wasn't like she wasn't trying, though. Each image came more terrifying than the last and Seras struggled to remember that they were nothing but figments but she couldn't shake the fear that gripped her.

Naiyu was trying to help. She offered encouragement and sheltered Seras from Alucard's rage more often than not. She seemed as determined in strengthening the Draculina as Alucard was.

"I can't begin to lecture," she said. "Since I don't know the ways of vampires but I think you have to focus on the one fact that nothing is real."

Seras tried that but it was useless. Each time, she succumbed to her fear.

She mirrored Alucard and criticized herself, frustrated that she couldn't seem to get the hang of something that her master made seem so simple. It was annoying and she became depressed with herself.

After one particularly grueling session that left her shaking and sweating, Alucard regarded her with disgust. "Be ready. We're going to continue soon," he'd said and turned away without another word.

Feeling rather downtrodden, she shuffled her way into the surrounding forest. Naiyu suddenly appeared in her vision, hanging upside down from a tree branch. "Aw. I take it your training didn't go so well," she said, speaking sympathetically.

"It's a complete disaster," she griped, kicking a stone. "No matter what I do, I can't shake off the fear."

Naiyu smirked faintly and righted herself, landing on the ground. "Well, Sir Alucard can be a scary individual. Why don't you walk with me?"

The girl turned and headed deeper into the forest and Seras followed, dejectedly. "If he would at least be a bit encouraging maybe I might be able to get the hang of this. But with him it's always shouting and insults."

"Oh come on," Naiyu said, looking over her shoulder. "How can you possibly expect anything else from someone like Alucard? You're a smart girl but you're not very wise."

Seras' cheeks turned red. "Now, just wait a minute-"

Naiyu suddenly stopped in her tracks and Seras saw her muscles tense. "What is it?" she said, her voice hushed.

"Be quiet," Naiyu said urgently.

There was silence for a few seconds as Naiyu's eyes scanned the forest. She reached into her sleeve and withdrew a rather large hunting knife.

The shrubs in front of them rustled and a small wolf cub bounded into the clearing. Seras immediately relaxed and her eyes sparkled. "Aw! Look at how cute it is!" She stepped forward but Naiyu held an arm out to stop her.

"Don't," she warned. "Wolves never travel alone. There are probably many more near by."

A piercing howl suddenly cut through the air. Naiyu covered her ears but Seras found it oddly soothing. The little cub gave a short return howl of its own then it bounded towards Naiyu and Seras. Naiyu stiffened as though to attack but Seras moved in front of her and knelt down, gathering the wolf into her arms. "What a cutie," she cooed as the wolf cub eagerly licked her face.

A sudden symphony of howls rose up around the two. Seras barely looked up from the wolf in her arms but Naiyu looked around, nervously. _"Seras," _she hissed urgently.

Many pairs of eyes suddenly shone in the darkness around the two. Slowly, a pack of wolves emerged, closing the two females in a circle. One wolf facing Naiyu growled ferociously, ribbons of saliva hanging from its jaws. The Gypsy girl shrank back in fear.

In contrast, Seras appeared quite calm. She lowered the wolf cub to the ground and it quickly bounded to join its fellows. A large wolf moved forward to receive it than pierced the girls with glowing yellow eyes.

Seras couldn't explain the mild feeling that swept her. She was completely unruffled at the half a dozen wolves that surrounded her while Naiyu seemed to be trying to stay on her feet. The head wolf started towards them and Seras did likewise. She didn't know what impulse controlled her but she bared her sharp teeth and _growled_.

The wolf stopped, its ears flicking back slightly before shooting forward aggressively. It hunkered its body down and snarled, trying to intimidate the Draculina. Seras, for her part, was not backing down. She took another step forward and narrowed her eyes at the wolf. Her enemy took a step back and whined faintly. The wolf barked a message to its comrades and slowly they began to slink back into the shadows.

When they had all gone, Naiyu released her held breath and dropped to the ground.

"Blessed be, Seras! How on earth could you – that was absolutely – Why weren't you scared?"

"Because they are creatures of the night. Just like her."

Seras looked over her shoulder to see Alucard manifest from the shadows. He wore a pleasant grin.

"Alucard," Naiyu snapped, rising to her feet. "You were watching the whole time?"

Alucard nodded, stepping forward. "It was quite amusing. An entertaining show, Seras, my dear."

"It wasn't for your benefit," she answered, somewhat coldly.

There was a pause in which another symphony of howls rose up, undulating in the distance around them. Seras closed her eyes and listened peacefully.

"They make sweet music, no?" Alucard said softly. For once, Seras had to agree with him.

As the howling diminished, Alucard's voice suddenly cut through Seras' reverie. "Prepare yourself, Police Girl."

She whirled around but she felt the sudden dizzying sensation that accompanied trips into Alucard's illusions. The familiar black and red landscape unfolded around her. Suddenly, she was filled with agitation again. Her muscles tensed as she waited what was to come. Already, she could feel the shaking start.

There was that tense little moment before the attack and suddenly a being of shadows rose up in front of her. She took a step back, her throat quickly going dry. Within minutes the shadows had formed the shape of a wolf. Seras felt herself relax and the question that came to her mind: _Is that it?_

Alucard's wolf was decidedly more frightening than a real one, however. It was about ten feet tall with monstrous red eyes and fangs as long as her arm. Still, she wasn't quite shaken. In fact, she felt challenged. Her fists clenched and she readied herself. The giant wolf bounded towards her and before Seras could react the monster had closed its jaws around her.

It was dark all around and Seras felt suffocated. This definitely put a new meaning to 'in the belly of the beast'. But through it all, she felt more angry than scared. She swung out into the dark abyss around her, trying to free herself from the shadowy confines. She raged on and on, seemingly in futility before the shadows exploded outwards and flung her back into the world of illusions.

The shadows reformed themselves, this time taking the shape of about a dozen wolves. Seras barely braced herself before they all leaped at once, knocking her to the ground. Her eyes widened with the sudden shock of the pain of a dozen jaws, countless teeth, closing over any exposed flesh they could get to.

She struggled before something in her snapped. Her pupils narrowed dangerously and she felt the muscles in her arms suddenly expand as though growing to twice their size. She gave a skilled sweep of her right arm and all the wolves were thrown off. She felt her mind begin to sink into the desire for murder.

_Concentrate, Seras! Don't lose yourself to it!_

Alucard's voice cut through her ears, bringing her mind back to the surface. And she started to notice things she hadn't before. Her muscles twitched underneath her skin, her eyes saw each shadowy strand of fur of all the wolves, she heard twelve different heartbeats, she felt lightweight and oh so powerful all at once.

She was in berserker mode.

Things moved in slow motion for her. Two wolves leaped towards her. Seras drew her arms back and shot them forward, through the chests of the shadow wolves that dissipated into nothingness. She lunged forward, weightless, and quickly disposed of the others, in a matter of mere seconds.

She straightened up, breathing heavily under her breath before Alucard's voice sounded again.

_That's enough, Seras. Come back to me._

Slowly, the illusionary world melted away and Seras stood back in the forests of Romania, looking up at Alucard who wore an extremely pleased grin.

"How do you feel, Seras?" he asked pleasantly.

She looked at her hand and made a fist. After a few seconds of searching for the right word, she said: "Unlimited."

Alucard laughed. "Terrific. Very well done, Police Girl. Tell me: why weren't you afraid?"

She blinked, surprised at the question. "I don't know. I think it was because…I don't know." She gave a weak laugh. "I kind of like wolves. So even if you made them all shadowy and monstrous, that just wasn't enough to scare me."

Alucard blinked at the sudden flashback that surged through his mind.

"_Music, you say? Well, I suppose one could see it like that. Yes, it is rather nice. But why didn't they attack?"_

"_They like you," was the simple reply that garnered a benign smile._

"Like fragments of a shattered memory," he muttered under his breath.

"Master?"

He looked up, pulled back to the present. "This is good, Police Girl. With enough practice, you'll be able to slip in and out of your berserker mode within the blink of an eye, no effort required. So. Are you ready to continue?"

Seras straightened up and nodded determinedly. "Yes sir!"

-

It took another month and a half for Seras to be able to control herself while in berserker mode. Even though it was easier for her to unlock her enhanced vampiric strength, she still needed a small amount of concentration, unlike Alucard who could bulge his muscles in a split second. The next door that needed unlocking was control of illusions.

"I can't say I think you'll fair well in this next stage," Alucard had said. "It requires you to frighten your opponent and as you're as frightening as a wet kitten, this may take some practice."

Seras looked hurt but Alucard ignored her indignation. He was pacing in front of her, chin tilted in contemplation, trying to think of the best method to teach her this new skill.

"You need to think of the illusion world first. With it in mind, you need to impress your will on another. You need to imagine you are physically pulling them into it. This should take a bit of time and a whole lot of focus."

Naiyu became Seras' willing test subject. She would sit with the Draculina while Seras scrunched her eyes in concentration. She could see the illusionary world, black and red and distorted, in her mind's eye but she couldn't perfect a way to drag a physical being into it with her.

Alucard chastised and scolded and shouted. "You're making this harder than it has to be. It's about visualization, Police Girl!"

Seras visualized taping Alucard's mouth shut.

But if the key was visualization than a factor of it had to imagination, right? She imagined grasping Naiyu's arm and pulling her into a hole which dropped them into the illusionary world. Her first try at that, she heard a small gasp from Naiyu.

Her eyes shot open. Alucard walked around the two women, a small on his face. "That's something," he said thoughtfully. "You listen well, Seras."

Seras looked up at him. "Do you use that technique, Master?"

"I used to," he admitted. "When I was like you, still getting used to my powers. But I don't need such methods. Not anymore."

Seras was silent. She had wanted to ask for more advice on her training but what he'd said made her think. He was once like her? It was very hard to imagine. In fact, the more Seras tried the harder it was. It was impossible to think of him as any thing other than the arrogant man before her. Had he really once been a newborn vampire? Seras realized, with a jolt, she had no idea how Alucard came to be. Who spawned the first vampire?

She ignored her own musings for a while. "How did you do it then, Master? When you were first…starting out," she asked, carefully choosing her words.

"I guess I can give you a physical demonstration," he said with a lazy shrug.

Seras watched carefully as Alucard positioned himself. The shadows around her Master's feet and rose up and forward in the shape of a claw, right for her head. She gasped as she felt the shadows pierce her and wrap around her brain. Then, in the blink of an eye, she was trapped in the illusionary world.

"When you become more experienced, you won't need some much imaginings. It will happen in an instant," Alucard said and released her back to the physical plain.

"Now keep practicing," he instructed. "I'll be back," he said and started off, into the village near the castle.

Seras sighed and Naiyu smiled softly. "This must be hard for you," the Gypsy said.

"It won't be," she answered quickly. "I _have_ to get stronger. I have to keep trying."

Naiyu beamed brightly. "Then let us continue."

Seras modified her vision. She had to stop thinking like a mortal and use her vampiric resources. Instead of picturing herself grabbing Naiyu, shadows rose up like sinister snakes and trapped the girl, dragging her into the illusion world. She focused all her concentration on it and after many repeats, she broke the barrier.

It was instantaneous. One second she was envisioning it happening and the next they were there, slipped in like phantoms. Naiyu gasped loudly, looking around the strange new world.

"_Good, Seras!"_ Alucard's exalted voice was in her head. _"Now go berserker and_ _imagine something frightening."_

The command was recognized. It took a minimum of three seconds for Seras to slip into her heightened state while Naiyu stood watching, wide-eyed. Seras had to focus to keep the bloodlust away and keep her mind from sinking under. She didn't have much more room for imagining so she picked the first thing that came to her mind. Naiyu was scared of wolves.

The shadows around Seras exploded outwards and a humongous wolf with several rolling red eyes formed. Naiyu screamed in terror.

The sound cut through Seras' mind. Her berserker mode dissipated almost instantly, reminiscent of the time it had when Integra called her name. And the illusion world melted away as well.

Alucard stood near them again and laughed, clapping his hands. "Well done, Seras," he complimented.

Naiyu, meanwhile, had fainted.

Seras rushed to the other girl's side and gently slapped her face until her dark eyes opened groggily.

"Wha' happened?" she asked.

"Um, I mastered my illusion power," Seras offered with a sheepish smile.

"Oh." Naiyu sat up, her eyes brightening. "That's wonderful, Seras! I'm glad I could help."

"I wouldn't exactly call it mastered," Alucard interjected. "You have a long way to go before it's mastered."

But Seras wouldn't be deterred. She was happy she was making progress, albeit slowly.

Two doors down, two to go.

-

"Oh come on, Police Girl! This isn't that difficult."

"You keep distracting me!"

"You don't need so much concentration for this one."

Seras had moved on to shadow manipulation and was finding it hard to do, for some reason.

"Look," Alucard said impatiently. "Your body can be manipulated. You think that's skin you're wearing? You think those are organs inside you? Your entire body is composed of blood and shadows. Now stop trying to change and change."

Alucard's form darkened and in a matter of seconds, he had dematerialized to become a flock of bats that flew around her, pulling at her hair and clothes.

"Alright, alright!" Seras shouted, swatting the bats away. "I'll do it, just stop!"

The bats regrouped and Alucard assumed his humanoid form with a smirk. "Well?"

"Just be quiet for a few minutes," she said and turned her back on him.

She blocked out the thought of him and concentrated on changing. Her skin started to tingle and itch and she resisted the urge to scratch. She would do as Alucard had and become bat-like. Several seconds passed with nothing happening then Seras' left arm began to shake slightly. She glanced over to see her left arm had gone black. She concentrated fiercely and the appendage broke apart in a flurry of bat wings.

The creatures swooped around Seras. She looked to Alucard who appeared unimpressed.

"Oh wow, you managed to get a whole arm dematerialized. That should come in handy. Quite fooling around, Police Girl, and do it to your whole body!"

She sighed softly and resumed her concentration but she found she couldn't do anymore. "I can't," she said softly and recalled the bats back to her and her arm quickly reformed.

And so, Seras continued her training finding she could break apart her body inch by inch until she resembled an internet download. She found it fascinating that she could sit calmly with half of her body in shadows and the other looking like the victim of a homicide. Alucard, however, was impatient.

He paced around her incessantly. "Come on, Police Girl," he urged. "Stop taking your sweet time."

But Seras had gotten used to her Master's prodding. She continued patiently at her own pace.

When the day came that her entire body split into pieces, countless fluttering bats, she was ecstatic. Alucard stood in the shadows of the castle, smiling proudly. Seras thought it time for a little pay back. She swooped down on Alucard in a shrieking mass. Alucard, for his part, looked unruffled as he swatted the bats easily away.

Seras reassumed her human form and smiled brightly. Alucard noticed a new look in her light red eyes. It was a look of triumph. He smiled back softly.

"Keep practicing," he instructed. "Then head to bed. I have something to look into and the sun will be up soon."

"Where will you be?" she asked, tilting her head with a look that reminded Alucard of a confused kitten.

His hand rose up and he ruffled her hair playfully. "Never you mind, Police Girl. Just do as I say."

She pouted like a child than shook away his hand and smiled again. "Fine." And then she did something Alucard didn't expect. She rose to her toes and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "Return soon, Master," she said softly with an innocent look in her eyes.

Alucard felt a curious sweeping sensation in the pit of his stomach. It was a feeling of desire and it came on so swiftly and strongly, he felt the need to grab her by the shoulders and press his lips to hers fiercely.

But he reigned himself in. He gave a contemptuous chuckle and stepped around, heading away from the castle. Seras watched him go with a smile and kept training as instructed.

-

It was about two hours later when the sun began to rise, casting the light on a sleeping Naiyu nestled comfortably among the tree branches. She was usually most likely to be seen resting in trees as was her preference. As the sunlight spilled across the brown-skinned cheeks of the Gypsy girl, her eyelids opened slightly. A glazed sort of look came over the girl's face and she settled into a stupor.

She was caught somewhere between sleep and awareness when a flood of images raced through her mind. It was a whirlwind of pictures Naiyu struggled o decipher. And just as soon as the vision happened, it dispersed and Naiyu awoke fully.

She blinked and struggled to recall the vision. It was the same as trying to remember a dream, like trying to hold water in your cupped hands as it quickly trickled away.

She thought she rearranged them in a semi-sensible order when Alucard came into her view, heading to the dark refuge of the castle's basement.

"Sir Alucard!"

Alucard paused in his step, turning his head to watch Naiyu as she climbed down from her tree and hurried towards him.

"What is it?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She huffed, trying to regain her breath. "Seras has one more level of her powers to unlock, doesn't she?"

Alucard nodded his head silently.

"She must not…unlock her true power."

Alucard's eyebrows rose. "And why is this?" he asked with a note of amusement in his voice.

"I have had a vision. If Seras taps into her true power there will be terrible consequences."

"Is that right?" Alucard crossed his arms. "Tell me what you saw."

"The images are broken, as you know. I saw Seras and she was in an awful rage. She looked just like you do when you go into your final stage of power. And then…I saw a foreign land but it looked more like a battlefield with corpses all over the place. There were huge pools of blood and fire; it was truly like a scene out of hell and I saw Seras, but she looked different somehow, and I saw her….pull your heart out."

Alucard chuckled lowly. "What heart are you talking about?"

Naiyu glared at him. "Do not take my abilities lightly. I have foreseen it!"

Alucard heaved a sigh. "I am not scared of Seras. No matter how powerful she becomes, she will never have a chance of defeating me." He saw that she was still upset. "But, if it makes you feel better, I can hold off from teaching her the last power."

Naiyu's face brightened. "Good! I know you are stronger than her but still. In my vision, I felt utterly terrified of her."

Alucard shrugged it off. "Thanks for the head's up," he said, though he didn't sound very thankful. He stepped around her and headed into the castle.

As he made his way down into the lower parts of the castle, he sighed with nostalgia. Unwanted memories suddenly began to flood his brain. A flashback of Mircea, Radu, and himself playing Hide and Seek ran through his head. Mircea was the best at hiding; it was always impossible to find him. And Radu always threw a fit when he was found. Alucard remembered several occasions when he and Mircea would trick Radu into hiding for hours, with no one looking for him.

He pushed away the memories and entered the lower room. Seras stirred and pushed open the lid of her coffin. "Master?"

"Keep sleeping, Seras," he said distractedly.

She did not however. She stretched her arms over her head and threw her legs over the side of the coffin and stood up. She walked over to him, inspecting him with a sleepy expression on her face. "Why do you seem so distracted?"

"This castle has bad memories," he said darkly and moved to sit in the chair in the center of the room, much like the one back at Hellsing. He hadn't thought about the place in close to two years.

Seras followed his movements with her eyes and yawned. She walked over and stood in front of him, rubbing her fist in her eye to clear the sleep away. Alucard felt a strange pull like the one he'd felt earlier that evening.

"That's right, you used to live here," she said in thought then looked to him. "Master…How did you get your powers?"

Alucard was forced to recall that night in the swamp, a searing pain in his chest, and then that world between worlds where he was called by the Dark Lord, the mightiest of all vampires, and given an offer.

He leaned to the side and rested his face in one of his gloved hands. "Why're you so concerned?"

Seras shrugged. "Just curious. I hardly know anything about you."

He took a deep breath. "There's nothing to know, Seras." He sighed and rose to a straightened position. He looked at her, in a dark yellow nightdress she brought from home, and he felt that sensation in his chest. Before he could stop himself, he reached out, his hands grasping her hips and, ignoring her cry of surprise, he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her possessively.

"Seras," he said softly and breathed in her scent.

"Ma- Alucard?" she asked questioningly. It was unusual for him to show such tenderness.

He had felt an inexplicable sense of longing and loneliness. There was nothing to worry him, no enemy that sought his destruction but still he was wary. A lifetime of having happiness stolen from him had taught him not to relax too often. But he had Seras with him, his newest Draculina. She had survived more than two decades as a vampire already. Maybe she would keep surviving. He realized with a jolt, that he needed her. He had lost so much through his long life. He _needed _her to live.

A smile stretched across his lips but he remained silent, closing his eyes as he leaned his head against her. Seras eventually relaxed and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding fast, like a young lover. And they slept that way until the next nightfall.

-

Seras was the first to wake. She blinked a few times before tilting her head up to catch sight of her sleeping Master's face. Then the previous night's activities came back to her and she remembered why she was curled up, so comfortable, in Alucard's lap. For a split second, she began to blush then questioned her action. They did have a child together. There was no need to get bashful. Even her dislike for public displays of affection couldn't be blamed. They were not in public.

So she took her arms from around his neck and touched the sides of his thin face gently. "Alucard?" she whispered lowly. He did not stir. Smiling softly, she lowered her face to his and kissed him gently.

Alucard quickly came to consciousness when Seras' lips connected with his. His eyes opened wide at the sudden disturbance than saw what the cause was. Well, there were worse ways of waking up, he decided. Quickly, he tightened his grip on her, which had slackened during their sleep, and he returned her kiss with fervor. His tongue ran over her lower lip and Seras' came up to meet his.

After a few minutes, they pulled away, looking into each other's eyes.

"Good evening," Seras said breathlessly.

"And the same to you, Miss Victoria," he replied pleasantly. "Were you so enamored by my sleeping form that you just had to have a taste?"

Normally, she would have blushed and looked away but not tonight. Seras just shrugged nonchalantly. "Something like that," she said playfully then climbed up off his lap.

Alucard felt disappointed at the loss of weight from his lap but he quickly followed suit, rising to a standing position.

"So are we going to start working on my final power now?" Seras asked eagerly. She was bouncing energetically.

Alucard remembered Naiyu's warning. "Get dressed first," he said. "Then meet me outside."

He left her to get to it. He was observing the night sky with its twinkling stars and listening to the howl of wolves in the distance when Seras emerged from the castle. She was dressed in blue jeans a black t-shirt, and her combat boots, her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"I'm ready!" she called ardently.

Alucard sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. "We have something to do first," he said lowly.

Seras walked up, peering curiously into his face. "What is it? Are you okay?"

He knew she'd be disappointed to learn she wouldn't unlock her true form but oh well. Disappointment was one of the many factors of life.

"Fight me," he said simply.

She blinked, her eyes widening in surprise. "What?"

"You heard me. As you've failed to utilize the first move, now you must defend." And he drew his arm back, shooting it towards her, like she'd seen him do many times. It was the kind of move designed to rip out someone's heart.

Seras reacted at the last moment, rising to her toes to push herself backwards away from his attack. Alucard leapt forward, following her trail. Seras' mind was in a jumble and she had to struggle to reorganize her thoughts. She followed Alucard's teachings and tried to keep a level head. She turned and ran, trying to distance herself and trying to gain enough focus to go into berserker mode.

She began to feel her muscles twitch and expand when Alucard suddenly appeared at her side, catching up to her with no effort.

"Running?" he asked with a malicious grin.

His right hand curled into a fist and he swung hard at her face. Seras' eyes narrowed fiercely and she stopped abruptly in her tracks, the punch catching her right in the face. Alucard blinked as Seras turned her head to grin back at him.

"Not anymore," she answered, growling lowly.

Her left hand came up and grasped his wrist in a vice like hold. She yanked downward and back, pulling Alucard towards her and her right knee jerked upwards to catch the ancient Midian on the jaw. She released him after the blow connected and Alucard stumbled back, shifting his jaw with a grin.

"Excellent," he said as the bone reset itself. "Marvelous. Let's continue."

Now, Seras was on the attack. She chased after Alucard, her legs moving in a blur as the elder vampire zigzagged to avoid her. Her punches and kicks were enforced with her police training and Alucard suddenly realized that she could prove to be an actual threat. As Seras threw a high roundhouse, he ducked under her leg. The momentum caused her to keep moving in a spin that brought her with her back facing Alucard.

Quickly, he capitalized, grabbing both her wrists and pulling them behind her back. He pulled her to his chest and lowered his head to whisper in her ear. "Lovely," he growled, his voice low and husky.

Before he could continue his attack, her body dissolved into shadows and exploded apart.

Alucard gave a barking laugh of surprise and pride. "That's the way, Police Girl!"

The shadows that were Seras zipped around before tangling around Alucard and binding him tightly. The No-Life King's eyes glowed fiery red and his own shadows came to life, pushing away Seras' and freeing him. He jumped away as the shadows reformed, bringing Seras to life.

The two vampires stood, some ten feet away from each other, grins identical. Seras leapt first, shadows rising up from the ground to aid her in battle. And Alucard jumped back, a hair out of reach, dodging, ducking, parrying, and counterattacking. And they continued in a whirling dance of delicious danger.

As time passed, Seras began to slow, breathing more heavily. Alucard was surprised at her level of stamina. She had lasted for quite some time. She jumped back and stood, hunched over, panting heavy. Alucard, looked unruffled, surveyed her with glowing pride.

"Shall we end this?" he asked easily.

Seras looked at him, licking her lips anxiously before she fell back to the grass, lowering her head to concede defeat.

Alucard stretched his arms up over his head with an arrogant grin on her face. "Exemplary," he complimented. He walked forward to stand above Seras. "Come back to me, Seras," he said softly. He saw her shoulders slowly relax, her breathing became lighter, easier and her eyes settled to a softer red. She looked up at him and smiled.

He smiled back. "Go into the castle and pack your things, Seras. We'll be leaving tomorrow."

Seras' expression quickly shifted to surprise. "Leaving? Tomorrow?"

Alucard nodded.

"We're going back to England?" she said excitedly.

He nodded again.

She clapped her hands together happily. "That's great. It's been so long and I can't wait to see Katherine again." She paused in her joy and looked at him curiously. "Why so suddenly?"

Alucard looked away evasively. "It doesn't matter, Seras. Go pack."

Her smile returned and she skipped towards the castle.

Hours later, after Alucard had supplied her with a bit more of human blood, he met with Naiyu over the rising sun.

"My time in this place is over. I'll be going back," he said stoically.

"I shall miss you," Naiyu replied affectionately.

He looked at her out the corner of his eye. "You're welcome to come with."

She laughed lightly, waving her hand. "Oh no. I could never leave this place."

Alucard gave an agreeable grunt and looked away towards the horizon.

"Alucard," Naiyu said suddenly. "Listen and heed me. There is still a great evil in this world, one that rivals you. And until that evil is expunged you will have a opponent, hidden, watching from the shadows. It is this evil that had once inhabited this castle, that evil that will rise again."

He listened to her and nodded slowly. "I understand. I would never think to disregard the wisdom of a great Seer sage."

She grinned faintly. "You tease me."

"I am being most sincere," he insisted then paused before asking. "Is this evil stronger than me?"

"I cannot say," she replied quickly, shaking her head. "You know well that Sight cannot be accessed at will."

He nodded. "Yes, I know." He looked at her, smiling. "I may return here someday. And perhaps I will meet another one of your descendants, as loving and dedicated as you."

Naiyu smile brightly, her white teeth gleaming.

The next morning, the vampires departed.

**Viola! Done. Okay, next chapter has Katherine in it and you learn what Miranda needed her help with. Trust me, it's a real whopper. The chapter's already written out so with a bit of proofreading, a little polish, and some well deserved reviews, ya'll should have it in no time. Review and check back for updates.**


	33. Returns and Revelations

**Thank you to those diligent readers who have stuck by me through my struggling writing attempts. -sigh- I thank you all wholeheartedly. **

**Darkangl28  
ParanoidSchizo  
Lady-Byzantine  
SickDeath**

**Now, forward!**

**Chapter 33: Returns and Revelations**

The trip back to London was pleasant enough. Alucard had a bit of peace that allowed him to brood while Seras, thinking herself a full-fledged vampire, slept heavily, curled up with her head in Alucard's lap. His gloved fingers ran through her blonde hair idly as he watched the scenery go by. He was wondering what he would do next. As a free vampire, he had always roamed whenever the impulse struck him. Now, there were things that kept him from that. Seras, who would undoubtedly want to tag along and Katherine, who he was sure hated him by now. He also wondered what had become of Miranda. He planned to look into what had become of his last master's child.

He found himself unable to think of what to do.

Maybe he could be happy, with Seras and Katherine – a vampiric happy ever after.

Something about that didn't sit right with him.

Seras snuggled closer to him, a contented smile on her face which caused Alucard to smile. She was really coming along. She would be a great vampire.

Time passed and Alucard allowed himself to rest. He would figure something out when they got back into town. The sun set and Seras awakened immediately, looking like a newborn vampire. She rubbed a fist at her eyes and yawned, her fangs poking out cutely. "Good morning," she said softly.

"Good evening," he corrected. "We'll be back in England soon."

"Really?" she brightened up quickly. "It'll be so great to see Katherine again. And Miranda! She'll be a teenager now."

He nodded with a distracted smile. "Yes. Great…"

For some reason, the No-Life King felt uneasy.

-

"Hurry the hell up!"

Sam was in the hallway, banging furiously on the bathroom door. "You've been in there forever. Save some hot water for the rest of the house, will ya!"

The door was flung open and a long-haired boy stood in the doorway, looking just as angry. "Get lost, Samantha! I'll get out when I'm goddamn ready!" By his glowing red eyes and bared fangs, it was obvious he was a vampire.

"You take one second longer, I'll scratch your damn eyes out, Elliot!" came Sam's enraged screech.

"Now, now." Katherine's calm voice suddenly broke through the argument as she phased in through the wall. "Let's try to be civil, children. There are others who are still sleeping you know."

The Hellsing House was definitely not going to waste. In the two years the trio had been living there, a large number of other vampires had joined their ranks. They were vampires like them, ones like the Old. They were respectable creatures, not bloodthirsty power-hungry egomaniacs. Many were strays; either ran away or kicked out of their homes. Katherine with her big heart and sense of camaraderie had opened the gates of Hellsing Manor to them. In essence, she had created a vampire shelter.

Elliot was one of the first to start living in the Hellsing House. Katherine had spotted him, saving a human boy from a gang of vampires and immediately extended her offer. He had accepted and instantly started butting heads with Samantha.

As of now, there were about twenty other vampires now living in the place they had affectionately nicknamed 'The Vampire's Den'.

Elliot and Sam were inches from each other's faces, sharp teeth exposed before they calmed down and broke apart. Katherine's word was pretty much law in the Vamp's Den. She had unasked for, undisputed power.

"Hurry up, _please_," Sam said through gritted teeth. "I would like to wash up sometime tonight."

Elliot gave a wolfish grin. "You are always welcome to join me, Samantha dear."

A dark scowl came over the face of the red-headed draculina. "You pig!" she swore. She grabbed his face in her hand and pushed him back into the bathroom, slammed the door, and stomped off. Katherine only laughed.

Needless to say, the No-Life Princess had been surprised to learn she wasn't the only one with an 'old soul'. There were other vampires out there, like her, who were compassionate and kind. She felt happy to have them near.

The only thing that still troubled her, was Miranda.

The Hellsing name did not cast the same shadow as it did ten years ago. Miranda had fallen off the radar until she showed up at the Hellsing House two years ago and asked Katherine for a serious favor. Katherine had come through, in a big way and set Miranda up in the flat she had lived in as a child. Since then, the now sixteen year old Miranda kept to herself, coming by every once in a while. Katherine had offered her a place in the Den but Miranda flat-out refused each and every time.

So Katherine left her to do as she pleased. She had a lot to take of herself.

She phased down into the kitchen where Damien sat, hair tousled, eyes sleepy, at the table with a cup of blood in his hand. "Morning," he yawned.

"Evening," she corrected. "Why do you look so tired?" she asked and crossed the room to the stove where a flask containing blood sat, with her name on it.

"I couldn't sleep," he answered simply, sipping his breakfast. "I can't figure out why – the sun was at its brightest. But I'm tired as hell and I definitely can't sleep during the night."

"Hm." She tilted her head back and drained a large amount of blood than smirked at Damien. "You should have woken me then. I could have thought of something to get you to sleep."

He closed his eyes and smiled faintly. "Ever the tease."

She set down her flask. The blood was gathered by five of the new vampires at the Den. They went out almost every night and filled enough flasks for twenty. It didn't taste like medical blood so Katherine had to assume they took it from living victims. It really didn't concern her too much as long as there weren't scores of people dropping dead so they could live. Still, it was a bit bothersome to taste type A blood mixed with type O.

A girl suddenly phased through the ceiling, landing crouched on the linoleum. She straightened up and nodded acknowledgment to Katherine and Damien before grabbing a flask and exiting the kitchen without a word. That was Joy. Long, dark hair, with sharpened features that could cut glass, Joy was a Draculina of few words and quiet disposition. She didn't talk to too many people but it was rumored she was turned against her will. She didn't often speak and Katherine tried to respect her privacy.

Not every vampire in the Den was friends with everybody else. They all just happened to share the qualities of the Vamps of Old. Many treated the Den simply as a place to lay their coffins and the other night walkers as roommates.

"So. What are we doing tonight?" Damien asked, looking up at Katherine.

In response, she shrugged. "I can't say I'm much in the mood for vampire hunting tonight. I planned to just chill around the house."

"What? _You_? _Not _in the mood to hunt vampires? Okay, did somebody steal your brain? Or should I be concerned about the water?" he joked.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Very clever," she retorted sarcastically. "It's just…it seems no matter how many times we go out and take down vampires, more spring up to take their place. And these are genuine vampires not FREAK enhanced ones."

Damien sighed and shrugged helplessly. "What can you do? This is the price it pays to be us. You could always quit."

Kat smiled and shook her head. "No, I couldn't do that. What would…" She shook her head again quickly, as though to clear that line of thought. "It doesn't matter. I'm expecting a phone call from Miranda tonight, anyway."

Damien's eyes darkened. "How is she?"

Katherine paused for a moment, her eyes looking away. "Alive," she said evasively.

Sam chose that moment to burst into the kitchen, dressed and ready for action, apparently. "Okay! Who's ready to blast some night crawlers!"

"I'm not feeling that itch tonight, sorry." She looked to Damien. "Why don't you go?"

"Because I'm exhausted," he replied quickly. "I'd like to rest tonight too."

"Oh, you guys are such babies!" Sam said exasperated. "C'mon, don't make me take Elliot."

That seemed to be the only option left to her. Sam left about twenty minutes later, Elliot in tow, the two of them bickering like a married couple.

Katherine retreated to one of the lower level rooms that had been reconstructed to be used as a living room. A big screen tv, mini-fridge, and many seats had been moved down into it. It was currently empty, which was unusual. Katherine stretched out on the couch with Damien beside her and together they watched tv.

She felt that usual feeling of contentment whenever he was near. As they lay, she idly wound her fingers into his thick brown hair and breathed in his scent. Vampires – they were meant to be solitary creatures but Katherine knew that she wouldn't have it any other way than this, with a boy she knew she loved. Her thoughts went to her father who had lived a life longer than she could ever imagine. How many women had he loved? How many had he lost? Did he ever cry for them? She couldn't picture that.

But she did want to ask him these questions – if she ever saw him again. He and Seras had been in Romania for two or three years now (she couldn't accurately remember) and before that, she hadn't been speaking to either of them. She felt weighed down with guilt.

An hour passed and Katherine was caught in that place between sleep and consciousness when the cell phone in the pocket of her jeans began to vibrate. She was startled awake and quickly detached herself from the resting Damien. It was Miranda on the other line.

"Hey, Miranda, what's up? Okay." A long pause. "Are you serious? Well, what are you going to do? Seriously? Maybe you should think about this –" She sighed heavily. "Do you want me to come with you? Fine but please, I want you to think about this. I know that but this is very serious." Suddenly, the phone line went dead. "Miranda? Miranda!"

-

Alucard and Seras arrived in London two days later. Seras looked particularly happy to be back home. In contrast, Alucard felt the sudden weight of the past on him. There was no other option but to see what crumbling mess Hellsing Manor had been reduced to. He expected it to be nothing more than a mass of smoldering rock.

He was surprised then, to find the castle intact, albeit with slightly overgrown shrubbery and his daughter, Katherine, sitting alone cross-legged on the lawn, deep in meditation.

Despite himself, a wolfish grin came across Alucard's face. Before Seras could call out to her, he manipulated the shadows around her to grow and twist becoming two twisted hands that went straight for the young Draculina.

Katherine's eyes popped open, her features twisted in alarm, as she quickly hopped to her feet and back flipped out of the hands' reach. Her own shadows came up and battled Alucard's back into the ground. Her furious red eyes scanned the perimeter looking for the cause of the attack before she caught sight of Alucard and Seras and her mouth opened in disbelief.

"Mother…?" she said, her throat dry.

The vampire couple phased through the gate around the Hellsing House and, suddenly overjoyed, Katherine ran for them, throwing her arms around Seras, in particular with a hearty laugh.

"You're back!" she kept exclaiming.

Seras, likewise, was laughing. "I missed you too, Kat!" she said and wrapped her arms around her daughter in a motherly embrace.

A moment passed between them like that before Katherine broke apart from Seras and cast her brilliant smile on Alucard. The No-Life King gave her a gracious smile in return. Katherine seemed at a loss of words to exchange with her father so she gave him a slow hug, nestling her head on his chest.

Alucard rested a hand on Katherine's head and closed his eyes briefly, a small smile on his face. "Did you get taller, little Kat?" he asked, a teasing tone to his voice.

She looked up at him and gave him a broad grin. "I am not so little anymore." She hugged him closer and Alucard felt surprised; he had thought she hated him.

"I missed you both," she said softly.

Katherine drew back and smiled. "So, I want to know everything. What have you guys been doing all this time? How was Romania? How come I got left behind? Oh, you are going to love what I did!"

-

Katherine called all the vampires that were home to greet Alucard. They had heard the stories and now, in the presence of the No Life King, they were as children, awed and a little frightened. Of the fifteen vampires assembled, Joy stepped forward, looking at Alucard with high regards in her eyes.

"It is an honor to meet you, Master Alucard," she said, placing her hand over her heart and nodding her head respectfully. "I pledge my loyalty to you, sir."

"Likewise," the vampires chorused.

Katherine turned to Alucard, expecting him to be pleased, but the aged Nosferatu had a disturbed expression on his face. She watched him carefully, noting the effort he seemed to be exerting to twist his mouth into a grim smile.

"That is…good to hear," he said, his voice thick.

"Master?" Seras said softly, touching his left arm gently.

He shrugged her off and nodded. "I'm going to take a look around the castle," he announced and stepped past them, phasing through the wall.

Seras and Katherine quickly followed. "What's wrong?" Katherine demanded worriedly.

Alucard sighed softly, his gloved hand rising up to cover his eyes. "What would compel you to think that I would be pleased by having a handful of teenage newborns as acolytes?"

Her cheeks turned red. "They're not mindless newborns," she said defensively. "They have the potential to become true Midians."

Alucard gave a scathing laugh. "And I suppose you consider yourself a 'true Midian'?"

Katherine glared. "You never change, do you, Dad? I don't know why I even bothered to spare you a thought."

Seras moved in front of Katherine whom Alucard had taken an aggressive step towards. "Hang on, Alucard. She's only trying to make you proud."

Katherine blushed furiously. That _was_ what she'd been aiming for but to have her mother announce it like that was rather embarrassing.

Alucard shook his head. "They have to leave."

"_What_?" Katherine stepped towards him. "You can't just kick them out. Many of them don't have any place else to go."

"That is not my concern, Katherine," he said coldly. "Who did you think you were opening these castle's doors to any nightwalker off the street? This place does not belong to you."

"It doesn't belong to you either!" she shouted at him. "If anyone can claim ownership, it's Miranda's and she doesn't want this place."

They squared off with angry eyes and bared teeth, and Seras in the middle, trying desperately to defuse the situation.

Alucard suddenly backed off with another sigh. "I truly do not have the patience for this," he said and in a swirl of shadows, he had vanished.

Katherine gave a frustrated growl. "Ugh! He is the most infuriating person I know!"

Seras released her held breath and gave Katherine a faint smile. "He'll be fine. He's just going to clear his mind."

Katherine sighed and looked at her mother. "Where do you think he's going?"

-

Alucard was wandering the streets, his thoughts in a jumble. He was upset with Katherine; he did not want those vampires in Hellsing Castle. He was reminded forcibly of the past, he tried so hard to ignore. The last time a group of vampires had live together, had pledged allegiance to him… History had the nasty habit of repeating itself and even though the chances were low, Alucard found the thought of another vampire slaying organization coming to head made him shudder.

He couldn't let the same thing happen again. He would be destroyed if it did.

Currently, he was on his way to the only other person in London, with whom he had any connection to. He was going to see Miranda.

It had been three years since he'd seen her. She'd be fifteen, or sixteen now. After Integra's death, Christopher Lee had taken Miranda to live with him, in an expensive flat in a nice part of town. Alucard dug the address out of his memory and headed there.

The house was a Victoria three story building with the distinct look of an abandoned structure. The lights were out, the paint was peeling, and the yard was distinctly unkempt. They had moved and as Alucard stood on the rotting fence, he knew he had to find the offspring of his mistress.

"Oi, you wouldn't be 'appening to be looking for them Bakers, would ya?"

Alucard looked over his shoulder at the voice that sounded. A squat woman with graying hair pushing a shopping cart looked up at him expectedly.

"Yes," he responded. "I'm a family friend and I've been out of the country for a few years. Would you happen to know where they've moved?"

The woman shook her head and sighed noisily, sympathetically. "You cer'ainly 'ave been away, darlin'. I could tell you stories 'bout them Bakers." She seemed eager to share her bit of gossip with a stranger. Alucard approached her and smiled charmingly. "Why don't you tell me about them?"

The woman straightened with a greedy smile. "Well, the mother left the fam'ly when the girl was just a little thing. And that 'usband of hers was no great shakes, I tell ya. I 'ear 'e lost all 'is money. And that lil' girl. She was a devil if ever there was one. Constantly rude and nasty to me, she was."

Alucard restrained the urge to roll his eyes. "Where are they now?"

"Oh dearie." The woman gave another sympathetic sigh. "That 'usband – he went and lost his marbles! He started screamin' about demons in the middle of the night. They've got him locked up tight in the loony bin, St. Itor's in the town over."

Alucard's brows furrowed in confusion. "And the girl?"

"The mother came and got 'er. I've no idea where she could be now."

Alucard turned and walked off.

-

He would sort out the inconsistencies later. His first stop was the mental institution. There was the distinct scent of death as he stepped into the building and up to the receptionist's desk.

The nurse, a bland looking, bespectacled redhead, was busy filing her nails. "Can I help you, sir?" she said tiredly, not bothering to look his way.

"I'm here to see Christopher Lee Baker."

"Oh." She stopped her filing and looked at him out the corner of her eye. "Are you a relative of his?"

"Yes," he said quickly and did not elaborate. "I've been out of town for awhile." He fixed the woman with a direct stare. "Take me to him now."

The nurse straightened up, her eyes going slightly blank. "Yes sir," she replied in a monotone and moved around the front of the desk. She led him upstairs to a somewhat secluded room. Alucard peered through the glass window in the front of the door.

Christopher Lee paced the room, looking older and more haggard than Alucard remembered. His hair had grown and he was in dire need of a shave. He was furiously running his hands through his tousled brown hair and muttered nonstop under his breath.

"They're coming, they're coming, they're coming to eat my soul, to destroy me. They want to drown me in darkness, rip me limb from limb, but but but they can't. I don't want to die. Integra, Integra, Integra, please please forgive me. I didn't mean it, I didn't mean… They come! Keep them away. Miranda, STOP!"

He tore at his hair and screamed, falling to his knees.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Alucard wondered.

"No one quite knows," the nurse responded, looking in with a pitying look. "He talks all day of demons and his nights are often plagued with nightmares. Even when it seems like he's regaining a bit of sanity, he goes over the edge again."

"What about his daughter?" Alucard said lowly.

"She visits about once every two months. Her mother brings her."

Alucard looked at the nurse. "Her mother?"

The woman nodded. "That's right."

Alucard sighed silently. "Would you happen to have an address for them?"

She nodded. "Yes. I do."

-

Alucard was swiftly getting annoyed. When he arrived at the address the nurse supplied, he broke the lock and entered without preamble. Miranda did live here; her scent clung to the walls, along with the smell of cigarettes and cheap booze. But the place was empty and Alucard took it upon himself to look through the house.

It was thinly furnished, bed, desk, chairs, and a table with no personal effects to it at all. No one would ever know a teenage girl lived there. The refrigerator was empty and an ash tray by the window sill was completely filled with cigarette butts. Alucard's face twisted in disgust.

As he moved through the house, the phone rang. He let the answering machine pick it up and listened closely.

"Hello, Ms. Heller. This is Ruby from the Women's Health Clinic. I'm calling to confirm your appointment for tomorrow afternoon at one o'clock. Please make sure to be on time. In case you need the address again its…"

Alucard's annoyance had reached a peak. He sat on the couch and waited for Miranda's return.

He was there for the rest of that night and the morning after. He shook himself awake at ten after one and decided to just go to the address on the machine. It wasn't too far from the house. Maybe then he might meet up with the missing Hellsing heir.

He did _not_ expect the Women's Health Clinic to double as an abortion clinic.

-

Miranda sat in the waiting room of the clinic, her heavy black sweatshirt pooling around her. She looked like she hadn't eaten or slept in awhile and her fingers were constantly fidgeting, fraying the ends of her sweatshirt sleeves. The other residents in the waiting room looked worse off than her. Some women were crying, some stared into space, and still some others looked like they had been there before. She sighed noisily, hugging her arms around her and waited, biting back tears.

"Mindy Heller," the receptionist called.

Miranda looked up at the call of her alias. She rolled her shoulders back and put on a brave face before rising to her feet. She turned to the nurse who beckoned from the back door when her attention drifted to the large window in the reception room.

A pair of furious red eyes greeted her before vanishing quickly.

She gasped loudly, startling many of the women in the waiting room.

"Is something wrong!?" the receptionist asked, coming to her side.

"N-no," she answered quickly and turned away. "No."

She was led into the back room where she answered some questions about allergies and if she'd ever contracted an STD. The nurse pricked her finger and collected a few drops of her blood before sending her back into the waiting room.

"It may take awhile so you're in for a wait, dear."

Miranda nodded. "Yeah sure. Can I go outside for a bit of fresh air?"

The nurse looked worried. "Yes, of course. But please don't take too long. If you miss the calling of your name, you'll have to wait even longer."

She nodded and left the clinic. She stood on the sidewalk outside for a few seconds. She was just about fed up with waiting when a shadow swooped down on her and she vanished.

The feeling of being transported was new to her. She held her breath for several seconds before the spinning stopped and she was back in her flat. Alucard was there, looking angrier than she had ever seen him. She might have shrunken away from the sheer fury in his eyes but she had learned there were things much scarier than vampires.

After a moment of silence, she gave a weak smile. "Yo."

Alucard stepped in and slapped her across the face.

Her head snapped to the side. Releasing a low breath, she turned back to look at him. "Now, that's no way to treat a woman in my condition."

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" he started lowly, looking very much like he wanted to tear into her.

"Well, I _was _in the midst of waiting for a routine operation before I got hauled away and assaulted."

"You fool!" he exploded. "You can't have an abortion."

"On the contrary, my dear Alucard," she said mildly. "Our government has made it quite possible for me to do so."

He grit his teeth. When had she gotten so damn sarcastic? "You're _fifteen_. How could you let this happen?"

"Hm." She feigned thought. "Maybe it was my lack of parental guidance that led to this unfortunate turn of events. And I'm sixteen by the way," she added, offhandedly.

He glared at her. "Who is the father?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, it could be a number of faceless jocks. I had a bit too much to drink at a party about two or three months ago and I think they decided to take turns."

Alucard hadn't expected to feel his stomach turn. It was an ugly subject and her nonchalance was not helping. "You're a disgrace. Integra must be rolling in her grave."

Miranda jumped to her feet. Her eyes lit up with a kind of quiet victory. "Integra? Oh yes, let's refer to Integra. Great leader of Hellsing, the woman of steel, but not many know she was a shitty mother."

She began to pace around Alucard. "Oh, you think so highly of my mother. She was smart, beautiful, well-mannered, everything I'm not. But maybe she wasn't so smart. Did you think she was perfect?" she asked looking up at Alucard.

Alucard watched her carefully.

Miranda grit her teeth together furiously. "If she was so goddamn fucking perfect then why couldn't she see? Huh? Why couldn't she see what he was doing?"

Alucard was startled. She couldn't mean… No, it was impossible.

He stepped towards her and entered her mind receiving no objection. It was like rewinding a video tape. He traveled back to when she was seven, about the time her dramatic mood swings had started.

_A tiny Miranda slept in her bedroom. It was silent and peaceful until the door handle jiggled and the door opened and Christopher Lee let himself in. Miranda stirred in her sleep. "D-daddy?" she squeaked, sitting open to look at him. _

"_Ssssh," he responded, putting a finger to his lips. "Be very quiet, Miranda," he instructed. _

_She nodded obediently. "Okay," she whispered back. _

_He sat beside her on the bed. "Come sit in daddy's lap."_

_She did as instructed. _

_His hands clasped her shoulder. "I love you very much, Miranda. You're such a sweet child." His left hand slipped from her shoulder and ran across her chest. "You love your daddy, don't you?" he asked and she nodded, despite her confusion. "That's good," he said with a nod. "Now, do as I say and be very quiet." His other hand slipped down, off her shoulder, to the spot between her legs. _

_Miranda gave a frightened squeak and Christopher Lee held her closer. "Ssssh, Miranda," he said into her ear. "This is how fathers love their little girls. And you can't tell Mommy or you will be in very big trouble. Promise not to tell. Come on, promise."_

"_I-I promise," she breathed lowly, in pain from his fingers. _

"_That's good," he said again. "I love you very much, baby," he said and continued, destroying everything that was childlike and innocent about the girl in the span of an hour. _

Alucard withdrew from Miranda's mind and the Hellsing head gave a bitter smile. "Yeah, Integra sure was perfect, all right. She couldn't even see her husband was a pedophile child molester."

Alucard was speechless and Miranda chuckled. "Yeah yeah. He may have been a scumbag, lower than dirt, bastard loser, but he was a pretty damn good actor. He had you all fooled, at least."

"I didn't – I had no –"

"Idea? Well, that was the objective then, _Alu-kun_," she said, spitting the once affectionate nickname with poison. "Integra died and you _left _and I was left all alone with my freak ass father who continued his shit until I turned thirteen and had my first period. Oh what a happy day that was."

She looked at Alucard impassively. "I told Katherine what had happened. She asked me if I wanted to kill him but no, I had better ideas. I had her torture him into insanity. And if I have any say in it, he'll rot in that hellhole until he dies. No. Even that will be too good for him." She looked up at Alucard. "You have something to say? Maybe sorry?"

Alucard looked at her. He remembered when she was three feet tall, following after him, wanting to be picked up. She had a smile that would make everyone in the room light up. But that was not the girl who stood before him. This girl, with her black and blonde dyed hair and her scowl that reminded him fiercely of Integra, was a product of years and years of abuse, whispered words and violating fingers in dark nights. Alucard felt the sudden surge to drop to his knees and beg for her forgiveness but he knew she wouldn't grant it. He wouldn't, in her position.

"Don't punish your child like this," he said lowly.

"What?"

"Don't kill your baby, Miranda. You're not a monster like him. You can give your child the chance for a happier life than you've had."

She blinked, her eyes so much darker than Integra's. He had to stop comparing the two; they weren't the same.

Miranda sighed lowly and collapsed onto the couch. "You want me to raise a child by myself, be a single mother?"

"Seras and I would help."

"Oh, yeah right," she sneered contemptuously. "Since you two have been such a great and helpful fixture in my life." She looked up at him. "Hellsing is no more. Why do you even care what I do?"

His eyes softened. "I've let you suffer too much as it is."

She scoffed. "I'm not Integra; I don't need a vampire protector. I've learned how to fend for myself; I had to grow up pretty fast in case you didn't know." She looked away from him and sighed. "I'm not fit to raise a child. Especially in stuffy ole England, a single teen mother like me will probably get spit on."

Miranda raised her head and looked at him. "It's a lot harder for girls, you know? I'm sure if I was born a boy that bastard wouldn't have bothered with me. And if Integra were alive, and if she knew, she'd blame herself for this scandalous mess. Women definitely got the raw end of the deal in this world. They need to be coddled and protected. You weren't very much protection and the only coddling I got was the wrong kind."

"Miranda-"

"I _begged _you not to go," she said, glaring at him. "I begged you and you just dismissed me. You remember the last thing you said to me? 'Take care of yourself.' But I couldn't take care of myself and you should have known that. But you didn't care. You just left."

Her expression softened and she looked away. "Well, now I don't need you." She lay on the couch, facing away from him. "Now get out."

"I'm not going anywhere," he said resiliently.

He did not expect her to fly at him, all spit and whirling limbs. Someone had taught her to fight for she threw decent hooks and punches. He dodged most of the hits before it became apparent she was not going to let him get away with that. Seeing her furious eyes, he expected he deserved it to a certain degree. He let her hit him until she tired out and collapsed, sobbing, into his arms.

A half hour later, he tucked her into bed. She seemed dizzy and disoriented after the fight. Alucard pulled the covers to her chin and stroked her hair a moment before turning to leave.

"I wish," Miranda said lowly, breathing into her pillow. "That you had been my father."

Alucard digested the statement and left.

-

He had been gone from the castle too long and out in the sun for an annoying amount of time. He wanted the respite of his coffin.

He had forgotten the problem back at the castle but was forcefully reminded of it at the sight of Katherine.

"Where have you…" She trailed off, her anger melting to concern, at the sight of his face. "Are you okay?"

"No," he answered simply. "I've been in the sun for several hours and I'd like to get some sleep." He moved to walk past her then paused, remembering. "Your friends can stay," he said and headed to the basement.

He slept for that day and the day after. He was only awakened by Seras' rough shaking.

He sat up swiftly, startling her. "What the hell is it, Police Girl?" he snapped.

"You were…talking in your sleep," she said nervously. "And…"

"And what-" he asked, irritated before he felt something wet drip down his cheek. He raised his hand and came away with a red stained glove.

"How ridiculous," he growled under his breath and roughly brushed away the bloody tears.

He looked at Seras who appeared somewhat scared. "What time is it?" he asked.

"It's eight," she answered immediately.

He threw his legs over the side of his coffin and rose to a standing position. "I'm going out," he said, not looking at her.

"Where are you going?" Seras asked, startled. But he didn't answer. He paused with his hand on the doorknob and asked lowly, "What was I saying?"

"It sounded like, 'my fault'."

He pulled the door open and left the basement, closing the door behind him with a definite snap.

-

The flat was empty.

Alucard stood in the silent living room, his eyes scanning Miranda's farewell letter:

…_London's no place for me so I've hit the road, just like you Alucard. Integra's inheritance was quite a bit so I should be okay for a while. France, America, Germany, I might visit all these places. It should take my mind off of things. _

_I'll keep the kid, don't worry. I'm hoping for a boy. Maybe he'll have a better childhood than I did. I really hope so. _

_I don't intend to come back to London and I'd like it if you didn't come looking for me. That part of my life is over with. I've got to move forward, you know? You will probably never see me again. I think that's for the best, don't you? Oh and:_

_By the order of I, Miranda Andrea Hellsing, head of Hellsing, the Royal Order of Protestant Knights, I hereby declare the Nosferatu Alucard released from the servitude binding him to the Hellsing family and all of its future generations. He is, from here on out, a free vampire. _

_Take care of yourself, Alu-kun._

It was postmarked with the Hellsing seal and signed with Miranda's curvy calligraphy.

Alucard sighed heavily and tucked the letter into his lapel and left the house for good.

**And now, since I'm suffering from that annoying little disease called writers block, the next chapter might take a little longer to get out. Hang tight and be patient, fans. Ja ne!**


	34. Old Allies

**I know you all must hate me or keeping you waiting so long. I doubt I've got any readers left but thanks anyway to the people who reviewed the last chapter:**

**WhiteHeartBlackSoul  
ParanoidSchizo**

**Chapter 34: Old Allies**

Alucard was bored.

Vampires naturally live long lives. And as such, they need constant entertainment. With no humans to bother and with Seras and Katherine immune to his tricks, the No-Life King found himself in the troubling situation of being bored.

He imagined, with fear, that this was what his life would be like from now on: monotonous boredom and he quivered with that thought. He had to find something to do with himself and fast.

First, he took to cleaning out the last remnants of the vampires in London with a feverish, focused energy and before long, he was sure there wasn't a single one left. Then he had to go back to musing.

He entertained the idea of donning a mask and stopping crime under the cover of night then quickly and swiftly dismissed it, thinking he might have caught a contact somewhere. It was annoying times like this that he yearned for a new Millennium group. He even thought of seeking out Miranda to…what? Restart the Hellsing Organization? No matter how bored he was, the crumble of Hellsing was a positive in all this mess.

Alucard. Was. Bored.

Seras was worried.

She worried that the current behavior Alucard displaying was an indication of his declining sanity. Not that he had ever been very sane to begin with but when she saw him tangling and untangling his hair in a strange manner, she began to wonder.

Perhaps the lack of opponents was starting to get to him. She heard Alucard saying something about a crime-stopping superhero and wondered if he was high. She tried to get him out of the house but then worried he might do something destructive like blow up a building. Her imagination began to grow out of control.

Seras. Was. Worried.

Katherine watched her parents a mixture of amusement and concern.

She had missed them immensely over their two year 'vacation' and having them back was fun. She didn't know what humans parents were like but hers were the best she could imagine. They didn't pressure her to do things she didn't want to and they allowed her freedom of movement. But now that they seemed at the ends of their wits, Katherine devised a plan. It wasn't a _master _plan, just something to occupy their minds.

She sat in the lower living room with Sam and Damien, perfecting it.

"So here's what we do: We've gotta make the castle like two times this big and that's gonna take quite a bit of Shadow power. Now how do you suppose we get the 'rents out of the castle while we do that?"

Her friends contemplated for about a minute before Sam's hand shot into the air. "We could fake a vampire attack."

Katherine thought about it. "Alucard thinks he killed them all. There's no way he'd believe that."

"We could announce a free blood giveaway," Damien said jokingly.

Katherine pushed his face away and sighed. "We can't have them lounging about. Alucard never even leaves the house anymore unless it's a full moon or something."

"Tomorrow's a full moon," Sam said quickly.

Katherine fisted her chin and sighed noisily. C'mon guys. We gotta think!"

There was silence then Damien said hesitantly. "We could…tell Seras we need her to get Alucard out of the way?"

Both girls stared at him and he offered up a careless shrug. "Seems to be the best option right now."

"You are an absolute…" Katherine shook her head. "Genius."

Damien shrugged again with a wide, sheepish grin. "Hey, what can I say?"

The next night, with Seras in on a portion of the plan, she dragged Alucard out of the castle to enjoy the full moon. All the vampires gathered on the castle's front lawn, about twenty in a straight line, Damien and Sam in front of them with Katherine heading the group. "Okay, soldiers!" Katherine shouted, like a drill sergeant. "You all know the plan so let's get to it."

And under the light of the full moon, a frightening amount of shadows rose up and engulfed Hellsing Castle.

"I'm tired, Police Girl, let go," Alucard said stubbornly, trying to wrench his arm from Seras' grasp.

The strawberry blonde held tight. She reached around and placed her hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling okay, Master?" she asked concernedly.

"I can't get sick, fool," he retorted.

"You don't get tired either," she shot back.

"Get _off_," he hissed, shaking her away. "What is the matter with you?" he asked, basically snarling at her. Seras put her hands behind her head and looked away with an evasive smile. "Nothing. I guess you could go back home if you really want to."

Alucard rolled his eyes and started back towards the Hellsing grounds. What he arrived at was a curious sight.

The castle, already large and formidable, had nearly tripled in size. Alucard stared in wonder at the new structure. The architectural design had been altered as well. The castle had stood for many decades already but now it seemed like something out of the medieval ages, resembling a gothic cathedral.

It bore a resemblance to the ancient Vampire Castle, long since destroyed.

"What is this?" Alucard breathed. He turned and looked to Seras. "What's going on?"

But the Draculina had vanished.

Alucard sighed in extreme aggravation. He didn't know what was going on but he was intent on finding out. This new castle was shrouded in vampiric mist. He straighted up and headed forward, disappearing into the darkness.

The air around the castle was eerily cold and silent all around. Alucard wondered vaguely where Seras had disappeared to.

It happened in an instant.

Alucard was wandering and slicing through the shadows came a set of shining silver nails. Startled, Alucard took a quick leap backwards. The invisible opponent did not strike again, simply vanished.

The No-Life King was utterly confused at this point and making a note to keep on his toes. He'd been caught off guard once and that was one too many times. He decided to check out the castle's interior. As he approached the front door though, it burst open before him and a shrieking mass of bats attacked. Annoyed, Alucard grasped a handful of the flapping beasts and ripped into them. After a moment, the shadowy creatures dissipated under his fingers.

"Enough!" Alucard shouted, when he was alone again. "Cut the crap already."

"You're always so impatient," a voice said behind him.

Alucard turned around to face the newly materialized Katherine.

"What the hell's going on, brat?" he demanded fiercely causing Katherine to laugh. She tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear and fixed him with a demure smile. "It's a game, Dad."

Alucard raised an eyebrow. "A game?" he repeated skeptically.

"That's right." She straightened up. "You've just seemed rather restless lately. We were afraid you were going insane. Well, even more so than you already are." She gave a careless yawn then continued. "So we composed this game as a bit of a training exercise. To keep you in shape and to keep you from going off the deep end from boredom."

Alucard was momentarily stunned. "You did all this? Why?"

Katherine considered his question then shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to do something nice for you."

A smile threatened Alucard's previously sour temper.

"Don't get excited yet," Katherine said, her smile widening. "You're facing almost two dozen full-fledged vampires most of which whose training I have personally assisted in." Around Katherine, several pairs of glowing red eyes illuminated in the dark. "Don't underestimate them," she said as a final warning. The darkness consumed her once more and Alucard was left alone. After fifteen, tension filled seconds, they struck, all at once.

A grin lit Alucard's face as he jumped through and ducked under the killing hands of many well-trained vampires. Each nail came a little closer to the last, threatening to shred him and he found he rather liked the feeling.

He landed some five feet back. "Well come on!" he encouraged. "You all think yourselves powerful Midians. Well, show me what you can do!" And he ran forward to meet the force.

-

Months passed. The vampires continued their 'game', gaining unmatchable skill. Alucard was proud of them all. It was during one of these many games, Alucard felt the sudden pull of two, new vampiric presences. "Stop!" he shouted, coming to a stop. The hands reaching from the dark, stopped, retracted and the vampire mist was lifted.

Alucard strode swiftly to the front of the castle where the new energy was concentrated, several vampires including Seras and Katherine followed. When he set eyes on the newcomers, he stopped dead in his tracks.

The woman was short and petite. She was slim looked to be around twenty-five but she was dressed in attire more fitting for a teenager: blue jeans, a beige dress shirt, and comfortable slippers. Her long blond hair was tinged with pink. Her pale face, though resembling a young woman's, had the beauty of an ancient.

The male was considerably taller but appeared to be younger. He wore a pair of dark dress pants, a white silk shirt, and a loosened black tie. His black hair laid against his skull, reminding Alucard of the long-gone Walter. A bent cigarette hung from his pale lips. The man raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and a flame erupted in the air, lighting the cig.

Those lips curled into a smirk.

"How about inviting us in? I wouldn't think your manners have waned, _Count_," the boy, Vladimir, said in a bored voice.

-

Alucard was privately shocked to say the least. Seeing two people he thought were dead for the last half a century was something new. There was no way they'd survived Van Helsing's attack on the castle. But he sniffed the air suspiciously and they had the smell of Old Vampires; no one was imitating them.

The castle's newest vampires hung back warily but Alucard walked forward until he was but a mere two feet away.

"Forgive my rudeness," he said softly, still in shock. "Newly resurrected friends have that effect on me."

Vladimir's thin, dark eyebrows shot up. "The Count, apologizing? And calling us friends rather then servants? What have they done to you?"

Alucard was perturbed. He opened his mouth to speak but Elena stepped in front of Vladimir. Her smile was benign and Alucard felt a pain in his heart at the sight of it. She was still so beautiful.

"You must forgive him, my lord," she said and her voice was the same lilting tone of music and laughter. "We have missed you greatly." And she spread her arms and wrapped them around his form, giving him a trademark squeeze with a vampire's strength.

And with that sudden contact, Alucard felt a grin split his face.

"Elena," he said fondly and returned the embrace.

Behind them, Seras looked slightly annoyed.

When the two vampires broke contact, Alucard looked back to Vladimir. The younger Nosferatu rolled his eyes but Alucard could see him trying to fight back a smirk. He stepped forward and extended his hand. Alucard scoffed and knocked it aside, looking on with an almost parental gaze.

"So," he said easily. "Care to explain how you live?"

"How about inviting us in first?" Vladimir countered.

-

The Game was put on hold. Elena and Vladimir were whisked inside and set up in the living room. Seras, Katherine, Sam, and Damien watched them with curiosity.

"Stop gaping," Alucard scolded. He swept his hand toward the two new vampires. "This is Elena and Vladimir. They are Ancients, among the first breed of vampires created. And you all will show them due respect."

They all ogled. A vampire as old as Alucard? It was hard to believe.

"This is Katherine," Alucard said, indicating her because she was nearest. "My daughter. Seras, her mother. And Samantha and Damien, Katherine's friends."

Vladimir looked mildly interested but Elena rose to her feet, an incredulous expression on her face. She stepped with inches of Seras, who smiled nervously. "This is your new bride?" she asked and her ruby red eyes were shining. She stepped back and bowed her head respectfully. "It is a true honor and pleasure to meet you, Madam Seras."

Seras still looked nervous. "Please, there's no need for such formalities."

Alucard had rolled his eyes. "You still act like a 15th century Transylvanian noblewoman."

Elena looked at him over her shoulder. "Why shouldn't I pay respect to the new No-Life Queen? And this!" She repositioned herself in front of Katherine. "Your daughter! How wonderful!" She cupped Katherine's face gently. "You are quite the beauty, little one. And I'm sure you're quite the hellion, just as your father." Katherine grinned sheepishly. Elena diverted her attention to Sam and Damien. "And these, the friends of my master's offspring. You must be great Midians." She patted them fondly on the shoulders bringing a smile to the teenager vampires' faces.

Alucard smiled privately. She hadn't changed at all. She still had that infectious charm that brightened everyone's day. Inexplicably, he felt his undead heart swell.

Vladimir rose to his feet and stretched. He was taller than Alucard remembered. The No-Life King turned to Seras. "Could you show Elena around the castle?"

She seemed slightly startled before complying with a slightly, sullen expression. "Sure," she said softly.

Alucard turned to Vladimir. "Let's talk."

Vladimir looked at him then shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure."

Alucard led the younger vampire to the balcony, outside Integra's old office. Vladimir's eyes wandered to the huge portrait of Integra that hung on the wall. He noted she was very beautiful, were it not for her concrete scowl. He also noticed Alucard pointedly ignored looking at the picture.

They stepped onto the balcony. The moon was presently absent this night, casting the world in shadow. Vladimir gave a bored yawn. "So what is it you want to talk about?" he asked carelessly.

A sarcastic smirk twisted Alucard's lips. "Perhaps we could discuss how someone I thought to be dead for the last half a century appears on my doorstep as though nothing has happened."

Vladimir grinned faintly. "Perhaps we should." He walked up and leaned against the railing next to Alucard. "For all their shortcomings, human beings' desire to be something greater is strong. I can't tell you how many people - cultists, occult wannabes, and deluded gothic teenagers - have attempted séances with the hopes of bringing the dead to life." He took a patient drag of his cigarette. "Elena and I happened to be called by someone with the power to do it."

Alucard's eyebrow rose imperceptibly. "Tell me," he said impassively.

"Séances are usually attempted in churches and graveyards, holy ground, as you well know. When on is put into motion, the spirits of Heaven and Hell, clamor for release. Usually, it depends on the side with which the person performing the ritual is trying to pull someone back from. Of course, teenagers sitting around a ouija board are often ignored." He looked out over the city of London. "But this particular spell was from a reliable source."

He paused, taking a breath. "The caster was a woman, a Wiccan High Priestess named Aradia. She called to the spirits of Hell and I was practically yanked through the Barrier, the wall between this world and the afterlife. Elena managed to get pulled through as well."

Alucard listened, reasonably interested. "Why were you pulled through this time and not all the others?"

"Aradia's affinity is for fire. It is this similarity that drew my spirit to her and granted me passage. Not only that. Her...intentions were unlike anyone who would summon a spirit from Hell. Usually, when a spirit is called from Hell it is for negative purposes. But not Aradia's. She called for a spirit 'whose morals were clean, whose soul was of a blurred quality.'"

Both of Alucard's eyebrows went up. "She was calling for an _innocent_ spirit?"

Vladimir nodded. "That's right. I've killed my fair share of people but the powers that be deemed me an Innocent. Go figure."

Alucard regarded him carefully. "Where is this Aradia?"

Vladimir sighed wistfully. "Unfortunately, I do not know. She vanished three months after our Resurrection, about the time we started getting on our feet and reacquainting ourselves with our powers."

"How long ago was this?"

"Three years."

"_Three _years?"

"I said that."

"You've been alive for three years with no notice to me whatsoever?"

Alucard looked angry and at that, Vladimir smiled. "Worried about us, were you?" he teased. He gave a soft sigh. "It's taken all this time to relocate you. We've traveled a great distance."

"From where?" Alucard asked, interested again.

"The deserts of the Serengeti," he said. "Aradia was a traveling Priestess, not from there."

Alucard was silent for a moment and Vladimir observed him from the corner of his eye. Then he asked, "So, what's your story? I'm sure it has to do with that woman in the portrait."

Alucard turned away abruptly. "Retrieve your coffins and bring them here. You'll be setting up in one of the lower basement rooms and here, you will stay." And he strode steadily back into the mansion, leaving a slightly surprised Vladimir in his wake.

-

Alucard took his time, striding around the castle and ingesting the information Vladimir had given him. He entertained the idea of trying to locate this Aradia but he knew it'd be useless. He had no clue to her whereabouts whatsoever and so he could be left traveling the world for days no end with no finish line in sight. Even if by some miraculous force, he did manage to locate the Priestess what would he have her do? Resurrect the rest of his fallen brethren? No. The dead should stay dead. He would not be the one to disturb their rest.

He was quickly becoming accustomed to the idea of Vladimir and Elena, relics from his past, alive and well. It felt like the days of old, in the vampire castle of Transylvania. It elicited feelings of nostalgia from him.

"Come on, I'll show you the step."

Alucard paused, listening, outside the door of the grand ball room. He pushed the door open and leaned against the frame. Elena was doing what she did best. Alucard was captivated, as usual, as she danced an elegant step, humming a symphony merrily. She seemed to be trying to coax Katherine onto the dance floor with her. His daughter, however, looked distinctly embarrassed and uncharacteristically self conscious.

He watched in amusement as Katherine noticed the expression Damien wore, a dull mask of awe and fascination. Katherine pinched his arm hard and he flinched, fixing her with an angry look.

It was at this point, Alucard sought to eject himself into the room. Samantha had departed but Seras was there and she sat up attentively as Alucard entered. "Ma- Alucard?" she said softly.

Alucard ignored her for the moment. Elena had not acknowledged his presence. She continued to twirl around the dance floor, her eyes closed, humming with a content smile. He stepped to her, into her space, and took her hand in his left, placing his right hand at her hip. She responded by interlocking their fingers and placing her other hand on his shoulder. And they began to waltz, as casual as you please. As he spun her around he noticed the eyes of the others, Damien's awed and slightly jealous, Katherine's surprised and somewhat nervous, and Seras' barely hiding her anger. He grinned involuntarily.

He turned back to the dancing Elena. Her eyes were closed as she hummed, moving to her own beat. He lowered his head and spoke in her ear, "You'll be staying here," he said lowly. "Until further notice."

Her smile widened and she finally opened her eyes and looked at him. "Nothing would make me happier, Count."

He pulled her a little closer to him, resting his chin atop her head. "It's Alucard now, my dear," he said softly, his voice slightly wistful. "Things have changed."

Indeed.

I don't really like how this turned out... I'm sorry but I've been going through a lot of shit in my life and I haven't been at 100 for a while now. This is the best I could come up with in my current mental state. But please, don't hold back. If you hated it, tell me so, if you loved it, tell me so. I'm a big girl; I can take it.

The next chapter will be kind of filler-ish but we'll finally be getting to the meat of the tale. Elizabeth (referenced in chapter 16) will emerge with a big bang. But it will be a while before that chapter is out so take your time waiting. Thank you and please leave a review.


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